In 2024, Tesla's sales dropped for the first time in over ten years. They delivered close to 1.79 million cars, which was a bit less than the 1.8 million they sold in 2023. This happened even though Tesla lowered their prices several times last year to attract more buyers and stay the world's top electric vehicle seller.
Meanwhile, China's BYD is catching up fast. They reported selling 1.76 million electric vehicles in 2024. BYD's total vehicle sales jumped by more than 41% compared to the previous year, reaching over 4.2 million. Most of this growth came from their hybrid car sales.
BYD does 90% of its business in China, where it's been doing better than foreign brands like Volkswagen and Toyota. The company has benefited from rising car sales in China. Intense competition has brought prices down, and government subsidies have encouraged people to trade in their old cars for electric or fuel-efficient ones.
China is also an important market for Tesla, but the company has been losing ground to competitors as the price war continues. In other places, like the US and Europe, demand for electric vehicles has slowed down, making things harder for many car companies.
Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has said that weaker sales are partly due to higher borrowing costs since 2022, which have made buying more expensive. Analysts also point to increased competition and questions about Tesla's brand as Musk becomes more involved in controversial political issues.
After a tough first half of 2024, Tesla's sales started to pick up again. In the last three months of the year, they delivered about 495,000 cars, which was a 2% increase from the previous year and a quarterly record. However, this number was slightly below what analysts had predicted, causing Tesla's stock price to fall by 5% in the morning.
Meanwhile, China's BYD is catching up fast. They reported selling 1.76 million electric vehicles in 2024. BYD's total vehicle sales jumped by more than 41% compared to the previous year, reaching over 4.2 million. Most of this growth came from their hybrid car sales.
BYD does 90% of its business in China, where it's been doing better than foreign brands like Volkswagen and Toyota. The company has benefited from rising car sales in China. Intense competition has brought prices down, and government subsidies have encouraged people to trade in their old cars for electric or fuel-efficient ones.
China is also an important market for Tesla, but the company has been losing ground to competitors as the price war continues. In other places, like the US and Europe, demand for electric vehicles has slowed down, making things harder for many car companies.
Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has said that weaker sales are partly due to higher borrowing costs since 2022, which have made buying more expensive. Analysts also point to increased competition and questions about Tesla's brand as Musk becomes more involved in controversial political issues.
After a tough first half of 2024, Tesla's sales started to pick up again. In the last three months of the year, they delivered about 495,000 cars, which was a 2% increase from the previous year and a quarterly record. However, this number was slightly below what analysts had predicted, causing Tesla's stock price to fall by 5% in the morning.
