BYD has finally done what no other electric vehicle company could do in Europe — it sold more battery-powered cars than Tesla.
This happened in April 2025, when BYD registered 7,231 fully electric cars across Europe, while Tesla only managed 7,165, based on sales data tracked by JATO Dynamics.
That’s a major change in the EV race, especially considering Tesla had ruled this space for years. What’s wild is that BYD only really started selling in most of Europe just two years ago, back in late 2022.
Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at JATO, said, “This is a watershed moment for Europe’s car market,” pointing out that Tesla had been dominating the battery-electric market while BYD was still barely out of its Norway and Netherlands test phase.
But now, things are different. Europe’s appetite for EVs is still solid, and sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped 28% in April compared to the same month last year. That bump wasn’t driven by German or American companies. It was pushed by the Chinese ones.
Chinese EV brands grow even with EU tariffs as Tesla struggles
Even though the European Union has slapped tariffs on cars made in China, that didn’t stop buyers from snapping them up. Registrations of China-made EVs rose 59% compared to April 2024, crushing the growth rate of 26% seen by manufacturers from the US, Japan, South Korea, and Europe.
So while Elon Musk keeps trying to defend Tesla’s performance, the numbers are already speaking. But the problem for Tesla actually goes beyond just competition too.
The company ended last year with its first full-year drop in global deliveries. And 2025 isn’t shaping up any better. In the first quarter, sales fell another 13%, based on internal figures and market watchers’ forecasts. Elon said earlier this week that the slump didn’t apply everywhere.
“We’ve already turned it around,” he claimed, insisting demand was still high outside Europe. But that’s not what the charts show. A breakdown of Q1 Tesla sales across big markets showed huge declines, and Europe was one of the weakest spots.
Part of that came from production problems. Tesla paused some of its Model Y manufacturing as it updated the design, aiming to roll out a new version globally. That caused gaps in supply and delays.
Then there’s the other issue: pricing. The Model Y is Tesla’s best-selling car, but many buyers are waiting for cheaper trims of the redesigned version to become available. That wait is dragging down demand in the short term. Analysts say this hesitation is visible in orders across several countries.
And Elon’s mouth hasn’t helped. His political views have stirred up backlash in both the US and Europe since this year started, leading to coordinated protests in major cities.
That public anger has hurt Tesla’s image in key markets. Activists have called for boycotts, and some European customers are staying away from Tesla showrooms altogether. While Elon has been busy on social media and rebranding platforms, BYD just keeps going.
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