For the first time ever, China’s BYD Auto has dethroned Elon Musk’s Tesla to become the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) seller, and could this lead to the iconic American brand losing its sheen in the global electric car space?
According to a report, during the second quarter of this year, global passenger EV sales grew a whopping 61 per cent to 2.18 million cars compared to the second quarter of last year.
During the same quarter, BYD shipped around 354,000 electric vehicles, a rise of over 266 per cent from the same period last year.
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| BYD Auto sold 354,000 cars in the second quarter of this year -- Source: Insideevs.com. |
Tesla’s global sales were up 27 per cent to over 254,000 units during the same period, and this has come as a big disappointment to analysts tracking the sector.
Tesla has been grappling with the discontentment of its employees after its chief Elon Musk announced job cuts and rivals like Rivian Automotive were waiting in the wings to grab talent from Tesla.
Even those who were not given pink slips at Tesla were disgruntled with the company management, sparking fears that more talent could exit the EV giant soon.
The iconic brand has also introduced numerous price hikes this year itself, irking prospective car buyers. Even Musk admitted that these hikes were “embarrassing.”
For Tesla, although business in the US went up, its China sales were hit badly by the Covid lockdowns.
Also, if the numerous price hikes were not taken by Tesla, US and China sales could have been much better.
Tesla had to slow down in China during the second quarter, owing to the lockdown in Shanghai, where its Gigafactory is located.
This factory accounts for half of Tesla’s global output and had to be closed for over 20 days, owing to the lockdown. So, these factors could have led to Tesla losing its numero uno position.
In contrast, BYD could operate its factories at that time because they are located outside Shanghai and other Covid-affected areas.
As per Counterpoint Research, of the total EV sales, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for the majority — nearly 72 per cent — while plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales stood at 28 per cent.
China remained in the top position in EV sales, followed by the European continent and the US was at the third spot. China’s incentives for EV manufacturers have made it the world leader in this segment.
EV sales in China during Q2 of this year surged by around 92 per cent to touch 1.24 million units, up from only 0.64 million EVs in the second quarter of 2021.
Smaller markets such as India, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia have also started offering numerous benefits to EV buyers and manufacturers, prompting these nations to adopt EVs on a war footing.
But with Covid curbs over in China, BYD Auto may see production and sales rise, but even Tesla’s mega factory would go full throttle on output, and so, it may be an uphill task for BYD to maintain its top slot.
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