Tesla remains EV leader in 2024 but clash with BYD continues

Tesla has once again retained the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker crown but the clash with Chinese automaker BYD continues as it regains the sale momentum by the end of 2024.

Throughout 2024, Tesla delivered 1,789,226 EVs and produced 1,773,443 vehicles. Almost 80-90% of these figures are comprised of Model 3 and Y, its top two sellers.

However, sales and deliveries for 2024 fell below the past year. That said, the company delivered 1,808,581 EVs and produced 1,845,985 vehicles in 2023.

In comparison, the company has declined 3.93% in production and more than 1% in deliveries. That’s a substantial decline to notice but there’s more to it.

The other models have increased their annual share compared to 2023, which means, sales for Model 3 and Model Y have led to the overall decline. Furthermore, these two vehicles fell in production compared to a year earlier.

Tesla Model 3 (Image source – Tesla)

Tesla vs BYD

China’s BYD has delivered 595,4122 battery electric vehicles (BEVs), an increase of 13.1 percent compared to 2023.  On the other hand, Tesla sold 495,570 units in the fourth quarter, which is lower than the forecasted 512,277 vehicles.

Despite this major progress, BYD operates most of its sales in China and only 7.6 percent of these come from overseas markets. On the other hand, China accounts for about 37 percent of its global sales.

Its total output in the country increased by 8.8 percent via the Giga Shanghai factory with a combined Model 3 and Y weight of 657,000 units. However, BYD remained behind Tesla with 1,764,992 units in 2024 while achieving 12.08 percent year-on-year growth.

This year certainly helped BYD advance sales but Tesla’s challenge has deepened as its graphics slightly decline.

Yet, 2025 could be a great year both of these EV makers, as they plan to release new models to boost sales and production.