China's BYD overtakes Tesla in European EV market for first time
Chinese automaker BYD (BYDDY, 1211.HK) has outsold Tesla (TSLA) in Europe for the first time, according to a report by JATO Dynamics.
This milestone comes amid a decline in demand for Tesla's electric vehicles, partly due to an aging model lineup and CEO Elon Musk's controversial political stance, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
BYD, which also makes plug-in hybrid vehicles, registered 7,231 battery-powered electric vehicles (BEV) in Europe in April, while Tesla registered 7,165 units, the market research firm said.
"This is a watershed moment for Europe's car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022," JATO Dynamics' global analyst Felipe Munoz said.
Demand for electric vehicles in Europe remains steady. BEV registrations surged 28% in April from last year, largely driven by Chinese car brands.
Despite the EU's imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, registrations of such cars increased 59% in the month from a year earlier, while carmakers from Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States recorded 26% growth.
His political views have triggered waves of protests against Tesla in the U.S. and Europe, leading to a slump in sales.
Additionally, production halts to retool factories to make the redesigned Model Y crossover globally caused a drop in manufacturing and sales in the first quarter.
Analysts have also attributed lower sales to customers waiting for less-expensive versions of the new Model Y, Tesla's best-selling vehicle, to become more widely available.
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