Chinese carmaker BYD saw a jump in sales at the end of last year, bringing it closer to winning the title of the world’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV) maker in 2024.
The company says it sold 207,734 EVs in December, bringing its annual total to 1.76 million, as subsidies and discounts helped attract buyers.
It comes as Tesla is scheduled to release its quarterly sales figures later Thursday.
The American electric car maker maintained a small lead in electric vehicle sales over BYD in the previous quarter, but the Shenzhen-based company is closing the gap.
BYD’s total vehicle sales jumped more than 41% in 2024, year-on-year. The increase was mainly driven by sales of its hybrid cars.
The company has benefited from a surge in domestic car sales, as intense competition has driven down prices and government subsidies have encouraged consumers to replace their old cars with electric vehicles or other more fuel-efficient options.
BYD sells 90% of its cars in China, where it is increasing its lead over foreign brands such as Volkswagen and Toyota.
The rise of BYD and other Chinese electric vehicle makers contrasts with the challenges faced by some older car makers, which are struggling in major Western markets.
last month, Honda and Nissan have confirmed that they are in merger talkswhile two Japanese companies want to fight competition from the Chinese car industry.
Also in December, Volkswagen has announced that it has reached an agreement with the IG Metall union which will prevent the closing of factories in Germany and avoid immediate forced redundancies.
The German auto giant has previously warned that it may have to close factories in the country for the first time in an attempt to cut costs.
Earlier in the month, The head of car giant Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, has resigned with immediate effect after a confrontation in the boardroom.
His abrupt exit from the company – which owns brands including Vauxhall, Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Chrysler – came two months after Stellantis issued a profit warning.
In the third quarter of 2024, BYD recorded a jump in revenue, beating Tesla for the first time.
It recorded more than 200 billion yuan ($28.2 billion, £21.8 billion) in revenue between July and September – a 24% jump on the same period last year, and more than Elon Musk’s company, whose quarterly revenue was 25 .2 billion dollars.
However, Tesla still sold more electric vehicles (EVs) than BYD.
