Byd, overtaking electric cars: the Chinese are ready to overtake Tesla

Bydthe first Chinese car manufacturer, sold 2.26 million electric vehicles worldwide in 2025. Let’s talk about «pure» electric vehiclesif we also considered the ibridi plug in (which also have a combustion engine) would reach 4.6 million. But in comparison with Tesla, it is precisely the “pure” electric ones that are more representative. Byd itself declared that it had reached 2.26 million on January 1st. This data sets a new world record and puts BYD in a position to surpass the Tesla Of Elon Musk. The Texas company sold 1.22 million electric vehicles in the first three quarters of 2025 (down 5.8% compared to 2024). Full-year data is expected to be released on Friday, January 2, but some estimates call for Tesla to deliver 1.65 million electric vehicle deliveries worldwide in 2025, down 7.7% year-over-year. 2025 is notable for another historic transition, with sales of Chinese vehicles (27 million) higher than those of the Japanese (25 million).

The resistible protection of tariffs

The Chinese leap is being opposed by both Europe and the United States through tariffs. The United States and Canada imposed duties exceeding 100% on electric cars made in China, while the European Union has raised trade barriers up to 45.3% (the percentage depends from house to house). But the Dragon’s companies already seem to have found a way to get around the tariffs, at least in Europe. The first way is to produce on site. Chery has factories in Spain, BYD is finishing one in Hungary which should be ready to start the assembly lines very soon. But this is not the only way. Another way to solve the problem upstream is to offer plug-in hybrid cars that are not affected by the duties. Finally, there is yet another path: producing in factories close to Europe (for Byd, Turkey) so that imports can no longer be said to come from China.

January 1, 2026

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED