The famous American brand is facing the meteoric growth of a Chinese brand in the electric market.
What if Tesla lost its place as number 1 in electric car sales? After conquering Europe, the American manufacturer, owned by the sulphurous Elon Musk, sees Chinese competition coming to tickle its feet. For around fifteen years, China has been the leading automobile market in the world. In the Middle Kingdom, populated by 1.4 billion inhabitants, a car is sold every second! No wonder then that the country produces more vehicles than the United States, India and Japan combined.
But to continue their growth in the automobile industry, the Chinese now have the objective of conquering the European market. With the main advantage of attractive prices (thanks to economies of scale) and know-how in the mass manufacturing of electric vehicles resulting from the political will, instilled at the beginning of the century, to take the turn towards green energy. The results are being felt today. Until now the main EV supplier in China, Tesla lost its leadership this year. The American company has been overtaken by the Chinese brand BYD which, thanks to lower prices due to government aid, is now the queen of electric vehicles on its soil.
The latest figures in our possession even show that ”Build Your Dream” – literally ”make your dreams” – is on the verge of catching up with Tesla on a global scale. With 431,603 green energy cars sold worldwide between 1er July and September 30, 2023, the Chinese brand, which was a battery manufacturing company before launching into the automobile industry in 2003, is hot on the heels of Tesla in the third quarter of the current year. With some 3,500 more sales, BYD would have overtaken Tesla, the global benchmark for electric vehicles.
And the Chinese manufacturer could well make up for this small delay by the end of the year. The upcoming release of its sixth model, the BYD Seal, presented a few weeks ago at the Munich show, will undoubtedly be decisive. A true technological gem promising more than 500 kilometers of autonomy, the promising sedan will come to ride on the borders of the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling car in the world for all engines combined. Driven by faster growth than Tesla, the Shenzhen-based company seems to have all the lights on. However, a large grain of sand could slow down its progress.
Aware of the growth of Chinese car manufacturers on a global level, the European Commission intends to toughen the rules against the importation of Chinese car brands onto its soil. In France, the new ecological bonus scale, in force from 1er January 2024, will automatically exclude electric vehicles produced in Asia. BYD brands, such as MG, Aiways and Leapmotor will therefore be affected. But so does Tesla, which assembles many vehicles in the United States and…Shanghai. So, who will take this hit to their wallet better, BYD or Tesla?