(Yicai) Jan. 5 -- Chinese new energy vehicle giant BYD outpaced its US rival Tesla in global all-electric vehicle sales for the first time last year to become the world’s biggest vendor of pure EVs. In terms of overall NEV shipments, which includes plug-in hybrids, BYD has now ranked first for four straight years.

BYD’s sales of pure electric cars soared 28 percent last year from the year before to 2.3 million vehicles, the Shenzhen-based automaker said on Jan. 2.

By contrast, Tesla’s shipments, which were reported on the same day, tumbled 8.6 percent to 1.6 million vehicles in the Austin-based firm’s second consecutive year of declines. The drop has also widened substantially from the 1.1 percent slide logged the previous year.

BYD’s plug-in hybrid sales slumped 8 percent to 2.3 million units, bringing its overall NEV deliveries in 2025 to 4.6 million units, a year-on-year jump of 8 percent, it added.

BYD, which started out in 1995 as a manufacturer of lithium batteries, has grown into one of China’s leading makers of electric cars and power batteries. The company stopped producing gasoline-powered autos altogether in 2022 and that same year, its NEV sales surpassed Tesla’s for the first time, earning the top spot globally. In 2024, BYD overtook SAIC Motor to become China’s biggest automaker by sales.

Rapid expansion overseas has been a key driver of BYD’s growth. In 2025, its sales of passenger cars and pickups abroad surged 145 percent from the year before to one million units, according to company data. The firm’s global footprint has expanded to 110 countries and regions.

In response to growing uncertainty in international trade, BYD is accelerating the localization of production abroad. Since 2024, the company has built plants in Thailand, Uzbekistan and Brazil. Its first European factory, located in Hungary, is set to be completed and to start production later this year.

Editor: Kim Taylor