BYD reported 777 billion yuan in revenue for 2024, which equals about $107 billion, according to a filing published Monday. That number officially puts the Chinese automaker ahead of Tesla, which reported $97.7 billion in revenue for the same year. This shift happened as the two companies continued competing for control of the global electric vehicle market.
The 29% increase in revenue from BYD compared to the previous year came mostly from sales of its hybrid cars, which remain in high demand. This financial update comes directly from BYD’s public filing.
The company’s leadership also marked another milestone, saying it became the first automaker in the world to hit 10 million new energy vehicles produced by November. These include electric cars, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids.
BYD debuts five-minute charge battery tech
BYD also used the filing to show off its latest battery update. The company introduced what it calls the Super e-Platform, a new system that it says allows electric cars to reach 400 kilometers of driving range—about 249 miles—with just five minutes of charging. That claim has not been verified independently, but the company says this tech closes the time gap between charging electric cars and filling up gas tanks.
Analysts called the development “out of this world” and said the new tech could change how drivers think about EV charging. These comments came from research notes cited in the filing. For now, BYD says the platform will go into new car models and make fast-charging the new standard.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of BYD have jumped 46% year-to-date, according to the same update. The company’s chairman and president, Wang Chuanfu, said in a statement that “BYD has become an industry leader in every sector from batteries, electronics to new energy vehicles, breaking the dominance of foreign brands and reshaping the new landscape of the global market.”
Tesla’s 2024 numbers are heading in the opposite direction. Its stock price dropped more than 31% this year. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) released Tuesday, Tesla’s sales in Europe fell 42.6% compared to last year. The numbers are based on new car registrations and show a serious hit to the company’s position in a key region.
Tesla loses grip on Europe as sales crash
In February, Tesla held 1.8% of the total auto market in Europe, down from 2.8% the year before. For battery-electric vehicles specifically, Tesla’s share dropped from 21.6% to 10.3%. The company sold fewer than 17,000 cars across the European Union, the UK, and EFTA countries, compared to more than 28,000 in February 2024.
The drop comes at a bad time for Tesla, which is trying to launch a new version of its Model Y SUV in Europe this month. The company has a limited model lineup, and newer EVs entering the market—mostly from China and legacy European automakers—are often cheaper. This has pulled consumers away from Tesla’s older offerings.
There’s also a political angle. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has drawn criticism for backing far-right political parties across Europe, and that’s turned off parts of the customer base. “It will be interesting to see to what extent demand rebounds once the new Model Y hits markets across the region,” said Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, in a report published Monday.
Even as Tesla sales collapsed, the European electric vehicle market grew overall. According to ACEA, BEV sales rose 26.1% in February 2025 compared to the same month last year. Total car sales fell 3.1%, showing a wider slowdown across the industry. A growing interest in EVs has been driven by new EU emissions targets and a flood of cheaper electric models hitting the market, but this hasn’t fully offset the shrinking demand for gas and diesel vehicles.
In a note to clients, Citi analysts said, “We continue to expect global auto volume essentially flat” in 2025. That flat growth adds pressure on brands like Tesla, which are already dealing with reduced consumer interest and a shrinking slice of the EV pie in Europe.
There’s also the matter of carbon credits. Tesla filed an update last week showing it formed a pool to sell carbon credits to over half a dozen automakers trying to meet the EU’s new emissions targets that went into effect in January. Based on 2024 numbers, analysts estimate Tesla’s own sales are enough to cover those credits for now. But if sales keep falling, that position could collapse.
The EU is expected to approve a relaxation of those CO2 rules this week, allowing carmakers to average emissions over three years instead of one. That change could temporarily take the pressure off traditional automakers. But it also means fewer credits may be needed from companies like Tesla, cutting into one of its side revenue streams.
In February, total new car registrations in the EU dropped 3.4%, while BEV sales jumped 23.7% and hybrid sales rose 19%. Combined, these electrified vehicles—which include fully electric, plug-in hybrids, and regular hybrids—made up 58.4% of all new cars sold in Europe that month. That’s up from 48.2% one year earlier.
Speaking to Reuters, Chris Heron, Secretary General of E-Mobility Europe, said, “2025 has started really brightly for Europe’s electric car market. We are seeing the early impacts from manufacturer plans to meet the EU’s scheduled CO2 limits.”
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