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China’s best-selling carmaker BYD sold a record number of electric vehicles and hybrids globally last year, even as fierce competition prevailed in the domestic market.
Tesla’s biggest rival it sold 4.3 million electric vehicles and hybrids in 2024, far exceeding its earlier target of 3.6 million, the company said in a statement. “China champion, world champion,” the company said in a social media post late Wednesday.
BYD sold more than 1.76 million pure electric vehicles last year, closing the gap on Tesla in the race to be the world’s best-selling electric vehicle company in 2024. Tesla’s fourth-quarter sales figures, due later Thursday, should reach 515,000 to meet its goal of 1.81 million electric vehicles sold by 2024.
Li Auto, China’s first profitable electric vehicle start-up, Stellantis-backed Leapmotor and smartphone maker Xiaomi also exceeded their targets, selling 500,000, 290,000 and 135,000 electric vehicles respectively during 2024.
China is expected to sell more electric vehicles, including clean battery cars and plug-in hybrids, than vehicles with internal combustion engines in 2025 for the first time, as a result of hundreds of billions of dollars in government subsidies over the past decade.
Automakers were also helped by a trade-in scheme launched in April last year that allowed consumers to receive 20,000 Rmb ($2,740) to trade in an old gas-powered car for an electric vehicle.
But while some of the bigger names were good, intense competition and the prolonged price war put dozens of players under pressure. Dozens of companies such as Xpeng and Nio missed their sales targets, even though they saw growth.
“Competition in the market is very fierce,” said Yale Zhang, director of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. “The biggest companies are taking an increasing share of the pie, while most of the smaller groups are struggling.”
Consolidation is already reshaping the world’s largest electric vehicle market. Once-successful start-ups such as HiPhi and Baidu-backed Jidu have collapsed over the past year. Automotive conglomerate Geely merged its sub-brands Zeekr and Lynk & Co in November to “simplify operations”.
“Economics of scale are more important than ever to automakers as the industry transitions to electric vehicles,” Zhang added.
Analysts also pointed out that the entry of technology groups such as Xiaomi and Huawei has deepened competition.
By December 31, Xiaomi had sold more than 135,000 units of its only model, the SU7 sedan, launched at the end of March, surpassing the target of 130,000 cars. Founder Lei Jun said on Wednesday that the group aims to more than double that in 2025 by shipping 300,000 electric vehicles.
“The electric vehicle market in the country is huge, and even the niche segment could feel significant demand,” said Li Yanwei, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association.
“Xiaomi’s SU7 sedan has created a sensation by meeting consumers’ demands for personalized [car] with an attractive price.”
President Xi Jinping acknowledged the industry’s success in his New Year’s address. “[China’s] the annual production volume of new energy vehicles has exceeded 10 million units for the first time,” Xi said in a televised speech on Tuesday.
