For the first time ever, BYD has passed Tesla as the world's most popular electric vehicle.

As we noted moments ago, Tesla announced this morning it had "produced approximately 495,000 vehicles and delivered over 484,000 vehicles" for Q4. The company noted that its full year vehicle delivery number was up 38% to 1.81 million, slightly less than recently revised expectations for the year. Nonetheless, total deliveries mark a record quarter for the EV manufacturer. The company manufactured approximately 1.85 million vehicles for the period. 

But on Monday BYD beat Tesla's quarterly number with its battery only electric, reporting sales of 526,000 for Q4, according to Financial Times.

The company said it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles for the year and it marks the second year that BYD has beat out Tesla in total production. BYD produced 1.6 million battery only vehicles, just slightly behind Tesla, and 1.4 million hybrids. 

We wrote back in September that BYD and Tesla were the two companies neck and neck leading the EV industry. We noted then that for the first half of 2023, BYD alone sold almost 1.2 million plug-in electric vehicles (incl. plug-in hybrids), roughly double the combined total of BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes.

As Statista's Felix Richter showed, based on estimates from CleanTechnica, BYD and Tesla had opened up a sizeable lead in the global EV market in the first half of 2023. Other Chinese brands such as GAC Aion, SGMW and Li Auto are also among the largest players thanks to their huge home market.

We also noted earlier this month that all of the "Tesla wannabe" EV names have, for the most part, run out of cash, setting BYD and Tesla far ahead of the pack. 

At least 18 EV and battery startups, including high-profile names like Nikola and Fisker, face the risk of depleting their cash reserves by the end of 2024, we wrote. These companies, once known for their ambitious goals to revolutionize the industry with electric trucks and SUVs, have struggled with increasing costs and manufacturing challenges.

Names like Lordstown Motors, Proterra, and Electric Last Mile Solutions have already declared bankruptcy, the report notes. Romeo Power, a battery manufacturer, and Volta, a charging company, were sold for much less than their initial public valuations. The remaining firms are reportedly focusing on cost reduction and have secured additional funding.

Gavin Baker, chief investment officer at Atreides Management, told WSJ last month: “It was by far the most insane bubble I have ever seen.”

More By This Author: