Tesla lost, to BYD, the title of the largest electric car manufacturer in the world. In 2025, the American brand sold 1.64 million units, 9% less than the 1.79 million in 2024, while the Chinese sold 2.26 million, a number that corresponds to a 28% increase compared to the previous year. This hierarchy, according to many analysts, is expected to intensify in 2026, as the Asian manufacturer has an increasingly numerous, diverse, and popular range, which is not the case for the brand led by Elon Musk.
Tesla, after a negative year in 2024, did not achieve the desired recovery last year, due to the increase in competitiveness in the electric car sector, largely created by the pressure from Chinese and European brands, and the rise in competition resulting from the introduction of many more affordable models. Thus, the Palo Alto company recorded its second consecutive year of sales decline.
This result is also due to Elon Musk’s association with the Trump presidency, the reason behind the controversies responsible for the billionaire’s loss of popularity. Additionally, it is necessary to consider the cancellation, in the U.S., of all incentives for the purchase of electric cars.
On the other hand, BYD had a very productive year in 2025, having sold 2.26 million electric cars – in addition to the many plug-in hybrids it also delivered throughout the year worldwide. This result is mainly due to its expansion in the international market, particularly in Europe. It is the first time that the Chinese manufacturer has surpassed the American one in annual sales, although it had already exceeded it in quarterly registrations.
“BYD, in 2025, increased and consolidated its global position. The brand has an increasingly significant advantage in the electric vehicle market, with the expansion of its range and the introduction of increasingly affordable products, which puts pressure on the competition, namely Tesla. The American manufacturer, after the sales increase recorded from 2021 to 2023, has lost momentum,” said Tu Le from the consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
The numbers for the fourth quarter of 2025 confirmed this negative trend. Tesla sold 418,227 electric vehicles, 16% less than in the same period of 2024, and a figure below the estimates of 423,000 units. Meanwhile, Musk announced a new strategy for Tesla, focusing on autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics. “The brand seems little interested in this ‘competition,’ as demonstrated by the fact that it is not preparing to launch new models. The update of the Model Y and the introduction of a more affordable version did not provide the hoped-for recovery,” explained Tu Le.
“Tesla’s problems are greater in Europe due to the difficulty in approving autonomous driving technology, which is expected to happen only during the first quarter of this year,” interpreted another analyst, Dan Ives from Wedbush. BYD, on the other hand, has rapidly increased its market share on the continent and is preparing to produce cars in the Old Continent, in a new factory in Hungary.
