Chinese company BYD sold more electric vehicles than Elon Musk's Tesla in the last three months of 2023 as the two battled for the top spot in the sector.
The US-based car manufacturer, Tesla sold 484,507 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, said a company filing — up more than 11% from the previous quarter.
But this increase was not enough to maintain Tesla's crown as the world's top battery electric vehicle producer and seller, as Chinese rival BYD reported sales on 1 January of 526,409 for the same period.
However, for the whole of 2023, Elon Musk's Tesla still sold more.
In terms of production as well Tesla is still the leader in the production of electric battery-only cars.
On 1 January BYD said, it produced 3.02m new energy vehicles in 2023, including 1.6m battery-only cars, and 1.4m hybrids.
Meanwhile, the next day, Tesla announced that it manufactured 1.84m battery-only cars.
BYD has been backed by the US investment billionaire Warren Buffett since 2008.
Most of BYD's vehicles sell at a lower price point than Tesla, which derives about 20% of its sales from the Chinese market, reports The Guardian.
Chinese electric car makers such as BYD and Nio have set their sights on becoming major players in international markets, with a particular focus on Europe.
In December, BYD, which currently sells five models in Europe and has plans to launch three more this year, announced plans to build a new production plant in Hungary.
Last year, the company said it did not consider building its first European car factory in the UK because of the impact of Brexit.
China's top-selling electric car maker is targeting sales of about 800,000 cars annually in Europe by 2030.
BYD said that the UK had not even made a top 10 list of possible locations to build its first European car plant.
The Hong Kong-listed BYD, which was founded by former university professor Wang Chuanfu and began developing batteries in 1995, intends to become a global powerhouse in the electric vehicle market.
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