Let's break down the global sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for the quarter, focusing on three key players: Tesla, BYD, and the Volkswagen Group. It's worth mentioning that the Volkswagen Group isn't really competing at the same level as Tesla and BYD at the moment.
During the last quarter, Tesla maintained its position by selling the most all-electric cars, totaling 435,059 units. However, a year-over-year growth rate of "only" 27 percent was reported, partially attributed to factory upgrades.
This modest growth pace left room for BYD to nearly surpass Tesla's sales figures. The China-based company reported 431,603 BEVs sold, lagging behind Tesla by just 3,456 units. Never before have the two companies been so closely matched; BYD achieved 99.2 percent of Tesla's sales, excluding commercial BEVs and plug-in hybrids.
The numbers hint at a potential shift in Tesla's stronghold on the BEV market. Whether Tesla will keep or lose its lead in the fourth quarter depends on if this slowdown is temporary.
In the meantime, the Volkswagen Group experienced a year-over-year growth of 41 percent in all-electric car sales, reaching 209,394 units. This is less than half of what Tesla and BYD sold, signaling that the German automaker needs to step up its game to keep its third-place standing.
Q3 2023 All-Electric Car Sales (YOY change):
- Tesla: 435,059 (up 27%)
- BYD: 431,603 (up 67%) or 99.2% of Tesla's result
- Volkswagen Group: 209,394 (up 41%) or 48.1% of Tesla's result
For the first nine months of 2023, Tesla sold over 1.3 million all-electric cars, while BYD surpassed the one million mark. The Volkswagen Group trails at about half of BYD's sales, with over 500,000 units sold.
All-Electric Car Sales in Q1-Q3 2023 (YOY change):
- Tesla: 1,324,074 (up 46%)
- BYD: 1,048,413 (up 80%) or 79.2% of Tesla's result
- Volkswagen Group: 530,485 (up 45%) or 40.1% of Tesla's result
For context, in 2022 Tesla delivered over 1.3 million electric cars (a 40 percent increase year-over-year), BYD sold more than 900,000 (up 184 percent), and the Volkswagen Group over 570,000 (up 26 percent).
Additional Information:
Tesla's numbers don't include the Tesla Semi trucks. BYD's figures (including Denza) omit commercial vehicles like trucks and buses. The Volkswagen Group's stats encompass Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Porsche, Seat/Cupra, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, but exclude MAN, Scania, and Navistar for comparison purposes.
Source: InsideEVs