Tesla beats BYD to become world’s best selling BEV company in Q3

Tesla delivered a total of 462,890 vehicles in the third quarter of 2024, comprised of 439,975 Model 3/Y and 22,915 Model S/Model X/Cybertruck/Semi. These numbers, while falling short of the Street’s whisper numbers, were enough for Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Q3 2024, exceeding Chinese automaker BYD. 

Tesla has generally been the world’s leader in BEV sales, though in the fourth quarter of 2024, BYD overtook the American electric vehicle maker. BYD’s feat was celebrated by Tesla critics and widely covered by numerous mainstream media outlets. The Chinese automaker’s reign as the world’s top BEV company was short-lived, however, as Tesla took back the crown in Q1 2024, as noted in a Reuters report. 

This was also the case in the second quarter of 2024. And now that Tesla and BYD have released their vehicle delivery results for Q3 2024, it appears that the American electric car maker is still keeping its place as the world’s top-ranking BEV company. During the third quarter, Tesla delivered a total of 462,890 vehicles, up 6.4% from the same period last year and up 4.26% from Q2 2024, as noted in a CNEV Post report. 

In the same period, BYD sold 443,426 BEVs, up 2.74% year-over-year and up 4.08% quarter-over-quarter. While behind Tesla’s BEV numbers, BYD’s Q3 2024 results are nothing to scoff at, considering the notably strong performance of the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 in multiple markets worldwide. 

It should be noted that BYD sells a wide variety of passenger and commercial new energy vehicles (NEV), including hybrids. If one were to include BYD’s hybrid sales in its Q3 numbers, the Chinese automaker’s results become significantly more impressive. BYD sold a total of 1,129,256 passenger NEV units in Q3 2024, up 37.36% year-over-year and up 14.91% quarter-over-quarter. 

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Tesla beats BYD to become world’s best selling BEV company in Q3