Chinese rival BYD tears into Tesla sales

US EV giant and Elon Musk’s flagship Tesla was battered in sales figures by Chinese rival BYD.

While Tesla delivered 72,115 China-made electric vehicles in October (down 2.6% from a month earlier), Chinese rival BYD, which makes EVs and hybrid models from its Dynasty and Ocean series, delivered 301,095 passenger vehicles same month.

Sales of Tesla’s China-made Model 3 and Model Y cars edged up 0.6% from a year earlier, BYD ringed in a 38.4% increase from the same month last year.

This despite Elon Musk having prioritised sales over earnings, particularly in China, ever since Tesla started feeling the heat from local rivals.

China’s home-grown automakers have made more headway in the world’s largest auto market, where foreign brands including Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor have taken steps to wind down their operations.

BYD, Tesla’s biggest Chinese rival, secured its market leadership with a 22.12% gross margin in the third quarter.

Tesla’s market share in China’s EV segment shrank to 9.89% in the third quarter from 12.98% in the second quarter and 9.93% a year earlier.

Huawei-backed EV brand Aito has also made a splash lately, with its revamped M7 model garnering more than 50,000 orders within the first 25 days after it went on sale in mid-September.

It missed third-quarter estimates for gross margin, profit and revenue. It also undershot third-quarter forecasts for its global deliveries, as planned factory upgrades for a revamped version of the Model 3 curbed production.

(With input from Agencies)