BYD surpasses Tesla in global pure-electric vehicle sales with already nearly 400,000 unit lead in 2025
Chinese automaker BYD has established a lead over Tesla in the global pure electric vehicle market through the third quarter of 2025.
According to data compiled by automotive blogger “Tongkuai Shuchang” (痛快舒畅), BYD’s cumulative pure electric vehicle sales reached 1.6059 million units through Q3 2025, compared to Tesla’s 1.2179 million units during the same period. This gives BYD a substantial lead of approximately 388,000 vehicles over its American rival.
In the third quarter alone, BYD delivered 582,500 pure electric vehicles. While this represents a slight quarter-on-quarter decrease of 4.0%, it marks a year-on-year growth of 31.4%. Tesla’s Q3 deliveries totaled 497,100 units, showing growth of 29.4% quarter-on-quarter and 7.4% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations but still trailing behind BYD’s performance.
Since overtaking Tesla for the second time in Q4 2024, BYD has maintained its sales leadership for four consecutive quarters.
Market research firm Counterpoint Research projects BYD will finish 2025 as the global electric vehicle sales leader with a 15.7% market share, cementing the Chinese manufacturer’s position at the top of the rapidly evolving EV industry.
Editor’s comment
In April, we reported that BYD’s pure electric vehicle sales had surpassed Tesla’s for two consecutive quarters. Now, it has exceeded Tesla for four consecutive quarters, becoming the undisputed king of pure electric vehicles. This is despite the fact that BYD’s average pure electric vehicle price still lags behind Tesla’s.
Entering the fourth quarter, due to the cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies in the United States – which was also the reason for Tesla’s better-than-expected sales in the third quarter, as many American customers placed orders before September 30 to benefit from the $7,500 subsidy – the sales gap between BYD and Tesla’s pure electric vehicles is set to widen further. We can confidently announce in advance that the old king is dead, long live the new king; a new global electric vehicle sales monarch has been crowned.
