New cars, including a new Chinese-made electric vehicle from the BYD company, are seen parked in the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, October 24, 2024.
Yves Hermann Reuters
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD reported third quarter revenue that topped that of its behemoth rival Tesla for the first time.
On Wednesday, BYD reported revenue for the three months ended September 30 of 201.12 billion yuan ($28.24 billion), up 24% from a year ago. That surpasses Tesla’s $25.18 billion in revenue reported in the same period.
This is a first for the Beijing-based EV giant given its solid performance despite the downward trend of EVs in mainland China. The company sold a record number of passenger vehicles in August.
At least half of BYD’s sales are hybrid vehicles, while Tesla’s vehicles are battery-only.
But in terms of net profit, Tesla is still the leader.
The American automaker posted a net profit of $2.18 billion from July to September, up 16.2% from a year ago. Its Chinese counterpart, BYD, increased its profit by 11.5% in the same period to 11.6 billion yuan.
In addition, Tesla remained on top in year-over-year sales, slightly reducing BYD’s total revenue of approximately $70.53 billion at $71.98 billion.
BYD is one of the most prominent EV manufacturers in China, the world’s largest automotive market where it has to compete with domestic and global rivals for dominance.
On BYD’s home turf, Elon Musk’s Tesla is one of its toughest competitors. The Model Y remained China’s best-selling battery electric car in September, according to automotive website China Autohome. Seagull BYD followed closely behind in second place.
That competition is only set to intensify as EU tariffs take effect this week, despite a disagreement with China.
On Wednesday, the European Union announced that it will implement a tariff increase on Chinese EVs, with duties up to 45.3%.
Extra rates range from 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for SAIC Motorswhich will stack on top of the standard 10% import duty on all electric vehicles.
While the tariffs imposed on BYD and Tesla have been reduced from previous proposals, both automakers have taken steps to increase production in Europe that will help them work on the task.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla got the green light to double the capacity of its Berlin factory.
And BYD announced last year that it would set up shop in Hungary. In July, the Chinese carmaker said it would invest $1 billion into a factory in Turkey, which has a customs union with the European Union.
– CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
