By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-03-24 14:50:47 | Updated at 2025-04-04 22:31:35
1 week ago
BEIJING – BYD’s sales in 2024 surpassed the US$100 billion (S$134 billion) mark, leapfrogging Elon Musk’s Tesla on revenue, as the Chinese auto giant wows consumers with a range of electric and hybrid cars packed with high-tech features.
Shenzhen-based BYD reported revenue of 777 billion yuan (S$143 billion) for the 12 months ended Dec 31, up 29 per cent, according to a filing late on March 24, beating estimates for 766 billion yuan.
Tesla’s 2024 revenue was US$97.7 billion.
The Chinese electric vehicle maker’s net income rose 34 per cent year on year to 40.3 billion yuan, beating analyst estimates for 39.5 billion yuan.
BYD has risen quickly to the top of China’s car market – the world’s biggest and most competitive in terms of EVs.
In 2025 alone, BYD has unveiled a new ecosystem that allows EVs to charge for a distance of 400km in just five minutes and has introduced advanced driver-assistance technology in even its most basic models. Investors have sent its shares to a record high, and BYD’s Hong Kong-listed stock is up around 51 per cent in 2025.
BYD also sells about the same number of EVs as Tesla – 1.76 million in 2024 versus 1.79 million – but, when all of its other passenger hybrid car sales are included, it is much larger. BYD’s total deliveries in 2024 climbed to 4.27 million, almost as many as Ford Motor.
BYD has forecast it can sell between five million and six million vehicles in 2025. It is already off to a strong start, with sales in the first two months of 2025 up 93 per cent year on year to 623,300 units.
One area where Tesla still clearly leads, however, is market valuation. The US carmaker is worth about US$800 billion despite a share-price rout that has seen its stock plunge 38 per cent in 2025. BYD has a market capitalisation closer to US$157 billion.
Mr Musk’s EV maker also makes more money on an absolute basis – Tesla’s net income in 2024 was US$7.6 billion.
But whereas Tesla is losing in China – shipments there have been backsliding for the past five consecutive months on a year-on-year basis – BYD is winning. China is still far and away BYD’s biggest market, where it commands a share of almost 15 per cent, not just for new-energy vehicles but any sort of passenger car.
BYD does not sell passenger cars in the US yet due to punitive tariffs on made-in-China automobiles, but it has made big inroads in markets in Europe, places in Asia such as Singapore and Thailand, as well as Australia.
Mr Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s chairman and founder, said in a statement the company planned to keep boosting research and development while bolstering its product competitiveness, including in its focus on succeeding outside of China.
He also said Chinese auto brands in the era of intelligence-led vehicles were no longer merely followers, but rather, at the forefront of the trend. They are “daring” to be first in the world and are collaborating with other domestic brands to go global and move up the value chain, he said. Bloomberg
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