2023 global EV sales – Tesla still top, but BYD growing much faster, sold more vehicles in fourth quarter

Sales of electric vehicles globally saw American EV maker Tesla retain its market lead for 2023, having sold delivered 1,808,591 vehicles last year, while Chinese manufacturer BYD sold 1,574,822 electric vehicles – out of 3,012,906 new energy passenger vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs combined) sold in total – last year.

Tesla retains its leading vehicle sales position though BYD has recorded strong growth, the Chinese manufacturer recording sales of 526,408 electric passenger vehicles (out of 942,651 new energy vehicles in total) in the fourth quarter of 2023, surpassing Tesla’s vehicle deliveries of 484,507 units in that period.

For the month of December 2023, BYD sold 190,754 EVs, an increase of 70.4%, from a total of 341,043 vehicles that month, an increase of 45%, reported Car News China. Passenger EV sales from BYD saw an increase of 73% last year, or 62% across all NEVs including hybrids, compared to Tesla which saw an increase of 38% last year.

Meanwhile, Tesla produced 494,989 vehicles for the aforementioned 484,507 vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023, while production for the full year of 2023 was 1,845,985 units, and deliveries were 1,808,581 units, representing year-on-year increases of 35% and 38% respectively for the American EV maker.

To commemorate its achievement of surpassing the three million vehicle mark in sales, BYD is offering subsidies to each of its dealers in China with a reward of 666 yuan (RM435) for every car sold in 2023, according to Car News China.

Though other automaker groups have yet to publish their results for 2023, BYD is believed to be within the top 10-selling automakers globally last year, and is also estimated to be the top-selling carmaker in China last year, having overtaken Volkswagen in the sales stakes early in 2023, according to Drive.

New model debuts from each brand last year include the BYD Song L and the BYD Sea Lion 07 which premiered in October and November, respectively, while the Tesla Cybertruck was the sole all-new model debut from the American brand last month; the facelifted Tesla Model 3 ‘Highland’ made its debut in September last year.

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