BYD set to overtake Tesla as world’s biggest EV seller in 2025

BYD is set to overtake Tesla as the world’s top EV seller in 2025, according to sales data through November.

The Shenzhen-based automaker, which also makes hybrid vehicles, reported 2.1 million EV sales by the end of November.

Tesla sold 1.2 million EVs by the end of September, with analysts projecting the company will end the year with about 1.7 million units sold.

Estimates from FactSet and Deutsche Bank show Tesla’s Q4 sales will fall, citing drops across North America, Europe, and China.

This change comes after the US ended a US$7,500 EV tax credit in September, and amid heightened competition from BYD and other Chinese manufacturers.

BYD has been expanding internationally, building factories overseas to navigate new tariffs imposed by the US and Europe.

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The 2.1 million EV sales that BYD reported through November mix BEVs and plug-in hybrids, while Tesla sells only BEVs, so it is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
On BEVs, BYD built 4,522 more than Tesla in 2024. Its BEV sales were 24,234 lower than Tesla’s global deliveries, so Tesla kept the pure EV lead 1.
Growth at BYD in 2024 leaned on plug-in hybrids, up about 40%, while BEVs rose about 12% 1.
Europe saw Chinese PHEV registrations jump 546% in April 2025 to 9,649, near 10% of PHEV sales, since EU tariffs hit BEVs and not PHEVs 2 3.

BYD beat Fiat and Dacia sales before its Hungarian plant opened 2. That pace will strain public chargers.
Chinese-made EVs reached 33.4% of new EV registrations in the first half of 2023 4. The UK took 30% of the 500,000 Chinese cars sold in Western Europe by September 2025 5.
Plans call for 100 BYD dealers across the UK in 2025 4. Local output starts in Hungary in 2026, with Poland and Spain adding plants for other Chinese brands 3.
Many Chinese models support bidirectional charging that lets power flow to a home or the grid, and 5,000 stations are being installed in China 6. Early work on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) can set European charging firms apart.