China's BYD is set to overtake Elon Musk's Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) seller, marking the first time it has surpassed its US rival in annual sales.
On Thursday Mir Said that sales of its battery-powered vehicles rose nearly 28% last year to more than 2.25 million.
Tesla, which is scheduled to release 2025 sales totals later on Friday, last week released analyst estimates that it sold about 1.65 million vehicles for the year as a whole.
The American firm has had a difficult year. mixed reception of new proposalsworry about Musk's political activities and increased competition from Chinese competitors.
In October, Tesla introduced cheaper versions of two best-selling models in the US in an attempt to increase sales. The company has faced criticism for being slow to roll out new and more affordable options to stay competitive.
Musk, who is already the richest man in the worldHe is tasked with significantly boosting Tesla's sales and Tesla's share price over the next decade to secure a record pay package. Under the deal, approved by shareholders in November, he could receive a payout of as much as $1 trillion (£740 billion).
As part of the agreement, Musk must also sell a million humanoid robots over the next ten years. Tesla has invested heavily in its Optimus product and its self-driving Robotaxi.
Tesla sales are down in the first three months of 2025 after backlash over Musk's role in the administration of US President Donald Trump.
In addition to Tesla, the multi-billionaire's business interests also include social media platform X, rocket firm SpaceX and tunnel-digging company Boring Company.
Those commitments, along with Trump's management of the Department of Governmental Effectiveness (Doge), have led some investors to speculate that Musk is not paying enough attention to Tesla.
Since then Musk promised to “significantly” reduce its role in the US government.
Despite BYD's rapid expansion in recent years, sales growth slowed in 2025 to its lowest level in five years.
The Shenzhen-based firm faces growing competition in China, its key market, from electric vehicle makers such as XPeng and Nio.
However, BYD remains the global leader in electric vehicles as its prices are often lower than those of rival automakers.
The company's rapid expansion, especially in Latin America, Southeast Asia and parts of Europe, comes despite many countries imposing high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
