How China’s BYD overtook Tesla as the global leader in electric cars

China’s BYD automaker surpassed US rival Tesla for the first time in 2024 to become the world’s leading manufacturer of electric cars, an achievement that exceeded even the expectations of the brand’s CEO Wang Chuanfu, who predicted it would outsell its fiercest competitor sometime this year. For Elon Musk, it’s a hard pill to swallow.

As US President Donald Trump lashes out at vandals destroying Tesla vehicles as a political statement, Elon Musk is bracing for another threat to his empire.

The onetime king of electric cars – and far-right provocations – has acquired a new nemesis, this time from China, whose name can be summed up in three letters: BYD.

The Chinese automaker toppled Tesla this week to become the world’s leading brand of electric cars. BYD, or Build Your Dreams, registered sales of $100 billion in 2024, exceeding Tesla’s $97.7 billion for the first time.

Despite ranking as the world’s new No. 1 in electric vehicles (EVs), BYD remains largely unknown internationally. For one, its main market is in China. “The domestic market would account for around 85 percent of its sales in 2023,” according to Gregor Sebastian, an electric car specialist with the Rhodium Group, one of the world’s leading China consultancies.

At first, Wang wanted to make batteries for smartphones.