BYD officially overtook US pioneer Tesla as the world's largest electric vehicle seller in 2025.
But the triumph has a catch: in China itself, BYD is only growing at a snail's pace—the weakest growth in five years.
Details
📉 Home market collapses: BYD sales in China grew just 7.73% in 2025. In December, sales plunged 18%. Domestic market share fell from 35% (2023) to 29% (2025).
🌍 Overseas saves the balance sheet: BYD's foreign sales exploded 150% to 1.05 million units. The 2026 target: 1.6 million cars outside China—especially in Europe, where BYD has already significantly overtaken Tesla.
💰 Price war takes its toll: BYD slashed prices for over 20 models drastically in May—triggering a stock market crash across China's entire auto sector.
- Great Wall Motor publicly warned of an "unhealthy state" in the industry.
🤖 Technology lead melting: BYD CEO Wang admitted that their technological leadership is fading. Competitors like Xiaomi offer autonomous driving in budget models starting at $9,555. BYD promised "major innovations" for 2026 without providing details.
📊 Tesla suffers from Musk: Tesla suffered massively from the elimination of the $7,500 US tax credit and growing backlash against Elon Musk's political ambitions.
Who's winning the home market? 👉🏻 Leapmotor: +100% growth, 596,555 sales in 2025. 2026 target: 1 million EVs. 👉🏻 Xpeng: +126% growth, 429,445 sales thanks to the affordable Mona series. 👉🏻 Xiaomi: Over 380,000 sales in its first full year—an impressive market entry.
Pride comes before the fall
We dug through the archives for you and unearthed Elon Musk's 2011 reaction to BYD. Definitely worth watching!
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