It was this company that proved that electric cars can be produced in large quantities, popularized them and set records in deliveries that competitors could not reach for years.
But sales figures over the past seven years show that the balance of power has shifted. China’s BYD, after years of steady growth, has overtaken Tesla in sales of battery-powered all-electric vehicles (BEVs), ending Tesla’s long-standing leadership position.
The main reason is not China, but overseas markets, where BYD’s sales are growing strongly even as domestic demand weakens.
The turning point happened around 2022. While Tesla continued to grow, BYD’s sales began to grow at a significantly faster pace. By 2024, the gap between the two companies had almost disappeared, and in 2025, BYD took the lead, representing one of the biggest changes in the electric vehicle industry since Tesla became the market leader.
The trend is particularly interesting because Tesla’s decline is not the main reason for the change. The data shows that Tesla’s sales growth has slowed, while BYD’s growth has continued to accelerate.
Tesla’s annual deliveries continued to remain at historically high levels, but the growth rate decreased significantly precisely in the period when BYD was rapidly increasing production and expanding its presence in international markets.
BYD announced that overseas vehicle sales in June 2026 increased by 94.7% compared to the same period last year, reaching 175,349 vehicles. In the first half of 2026, sales on foreign markets increased by 70.7%, to a total of 792,256 vehicles.
At the same time, the company recorded a 22% drop in domestic sales due to the slowdown in the Chinese car market. China’s auto market is facing growing pressures from government subsidy cuts, weaker consumer confidence and a prolonged slump in the housing market. Industry forecasts now predict that total car sales in China will fall by 11% this year.