Chinese BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle maker in 2025, after Elon Musk's US company reported a year-end drop in deliveries.
BYD sold 2.26 million battery electric vehicles during the year, easily exceeding the 1.63 million deliveries Tesla reported Friday for the same period.
The transition is a symbolic moment in the rise of Chinese auto companies, which have used the shift to electric vehicles to try to dominate the global auto industry. Chinese car exports increase in recent years led by BYD and rivals such as state-owned SAIC and Chery, which operates the Omoda and Jaecoo brands.
Electric vehicle sales have continued to rise over the past two years, but the pace of growth has been slower than expected. Electric vehicle makers have been forced to aggressively cut prices, and governments around the world have scrapped gasoline-free targets.
Tesla's sales appear to have suffered in large part due to Donald Trump's elimination of electric vehicle (EV) subsidies. The US president also rolled back emissions rules that had encouraged the production of electric vehicles. And Tesla also faced backlash from some consumers after Musk's embrace of far-right politics at the end of 2024.
Tesla deliveries fell to 418,200 in the final quarter of the year, below average analyst forecasts. Sales in 2025 were down 9% compared to 2024.
The Bloomberg average had suggested Tesla would deliver 441,000 vehicles during the quarter, but Tesla took the unusual step ahead of the new year. publishes its own consensus assessment for the first timeapparently in an attempt to convince investors that sales were expected to be lower.
Tesla's share price fell 1% on Friday, although it has fallen 8% since Christmas Eve.
Trump's anti-electric vehicle policies came despite Musk donating more money than anyone else to the victorious 2024 presidential election campaign and briefly attempting to cut government spending. At first it seemed like Musk had won Trump's support for electric vehicles – and even an awkward Tesla photo op in front of the White House – but they fell sharply in the summer.
This was Tesla's second consecutive annual sales decline. Yet even with falling sales, it remains the world's most valuable automaker, with shares valued at $1.4 trillion—more than the next 30 automakers combined. Investors appear to be betting that Musk will make Tesla a leading force in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Musk has consistently said that autonomous capabilities will set Tesla apart from its competitors, and the company has begun operating limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. However, it will still have to face competition on this front. Several Chinese automakers and tech companies already have similar technology, including an offering from BYD called “Eye of God” that is now included in even the cheapest cars.
BYD's electric vehicle sales rose 28% year over year, despite weaker performance in December.
BYD was founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturing company. Wang Chuanfu, often called the Chinese equivalent of Musk. Its business has already produced more cars than Tesla, if you count hybrids.
Manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen overtook Tesla one quarter earlier. However, its battery power production has pulled away from its US rival in 2025, despite intense competition from Chinese rivals.
BYD recorded 4.55 million vehicle sales in 2025, although sales of plug-in hybrids fell 8% year-on-year to 2.29 million. This came despite rising sales of plug-in hybrids, which combine a smaller battery with a gasoline or diesel engine, in some markets where consumers were concerned about their charging ability. BYD also more than doubled sales of commercial vehicles, including electric buses and trucks, to 57,000.
