BYD On Course to Dethrone Tesla in Europe’s EV Market, 2024 Reports

7th January 2024

Tesla appears to be losing its market share fast, starting with Europe. Recently, the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, had to deal with operation disruptions in the region due to a workers' strike in Sweden.

Meanwhile, European demand for Tesla cars has slowed to a record low. By December 2023, demand for BYD cars, an electric car maker backed by Warren Buffet, appeared to be increasing at the expense of Tesla's performance.

Trouble in Europe

In Germany, where Tesla has the only manufacturing plant serving Europe, Tesla sold 77% fewer cars in December 2023 than the previous year. Government data shows that the carmaker had a disappointing Q4 in a country representing its largest European market share.

In the past years since 2018, Tesla has consistently increased monthly sales. 2023 appears to have been an exception. Tesla’s $750,000 billion market value may experience an even further decline in 2024 as rivals double down their competitive efforts.

In December 2023, Tesla's European performance was so bad that it nullified all the major gains from November.

In Germany, where the electric vehicle market expanded 11% in 2023, Tesla's demand volume dropped by 9%.

Similarly, in the UK, demand for Teslas weakened between November and December. Tesla's annual sales volume in the country dropped by 9%.

However, demand for Teslas seems to be growing steadily in China. This is a comparatively larger EV market where Tesla had an impressive Q4. China's demand helped push Tesla's global sales to 1.8 million cars in 2023.

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BYD’s Onslaught

Meanwhile, BYD sold over 3 million cars in 2023. The Chinese-based car maker's yearly demand increased 62% according to the company reports posted on 1st January.

BYD’s battery electric vehicle sales increased 73% year on year. They did 1.5 million units in 2023, up from 91,000 in 2022.

Also, BYD hybrid electric vehicle sales jumped from 946,000 in 2022 to 1.4 million in 2023.

BYD has been increasing its market share for a while now as Tesla struggles with supply chain issues and dissatisfied customers.

Starting in 2022, BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest manufacturer of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). The Shanghai factory shutdown occasioned by COVID likely contributed to Tesla’s low performance at the time. BYD factory locations were not affected by lockdowns.

BYD’s Robust Future

In December 2023, BYD announced plans to set up operations in Hungary. This is likely part of its plan to dethrone Tesla in the European market. The announcement came shortly after the company made its six millionth EV in China. This demonstrates their ever-growing capacity for industry dominance.

Just like Tesla, BYD makes its own batteries. This gives it a big advantage over competitors who depend on outsourced EV battery manufacturing.

On the other hand the Tesla stock has repeatedly fallen short of expectations over the last year. Last year, an autopilot feature failure triggered mass recalls of Tesla cars and federal investigations.

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I am Andrew Juma

Words in This Article

Market share

Market share refers to the portion or percentage of a specific market that a company or product holds. In Q3 of 2023, Tesla’s market share fell to 50%.

Q4

Q4 refers to the final quarter of the fiscal year (October-December), which is crucial for assessing a company’s annual performance. Comparing Q4 to Q1-Q3 helps businesses analyze yearly trends, especially during seasonal fluctuations.

Double down

Double down means to intensify or increase one's commitment or efforts, often in a risky or bold manner.

Annual sales volume

Annual sales volume is the total goods or services a business sells within a year. Tesla’s annual sales volume in 2023 was 1.81 million, which represents the total number of vehicles they sold worldwide in 12 months.

Onslaught

In a business context, "onslaught" describes relentless competition, where a company or market force exerts a sustained and aggressive effort to dominate or surpass others.

Capacity

Capacity in business refers to the maximum level of production, services, or resources that a company can handle efficiently within a specific time frame.