On the evening of January 2nd, Tesla released production and sales data showing that in the fourth quarter of 2023, 484500 pure electric vehicles were delivered. BYD sold 526400 pure electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This means that in the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD's pure electric car model sales surpassed Tesla's.
In 2022 and 2023, BYD won the global new energy vehicle sales crown twice, but the sales behind the first place include pure electric and hybrid models. Tesla has always been the global best-selling pure electric vehicle of the year.
Now, the changes in data for the fourth quarter of 2023 indicate that BYD may remain the world's best-selling new energy vehicle.
Changes in monthly and quarterly production and sales
In 2023, Tesla produced 1.846 million pure electric vehicles and delivered 1.8086 million vehicles; BYD produced 1.5896 million pure electric vehicles and sold 1.5748 million vehicles.
The figure shows Tesla's production and sales data for the year 2023
From the annual sales of pure electric models, Tesla remains the world's best-selling car in 2023. BYD still has a gap of 233800 units in pure electric vehicle sales compared to Tesla.
However, the gap between the two in pure electric models will change in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Tesla produced 495000 pure electric vehicles and delivered 484500 vehicles, which means the monthly average production of 165000 vehicles and delivery of 161500 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023.
BYD continues to catch up in pure electric vehicle sales, producing 169900 units and selling 165500 units in October 2023, completing the reverse of Tesla's monthly average production and sales.
Afterwards, the monthly production and sales of BYD's pure electric models continued to increase, with a production of 176400 units and sales of 190800 units by December 2023, which is a gap from Tesla's monthly production and sales.
From monthly data to quarterly data, BYD's pure electric vehicle production and sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 were 519000 and 526400, respectively; Tesla's production and sales of pure electric vehicles were 495000 and 484500 respectively.
There are early signs of being overturned
Compared to the sales changes in the fourth quarter of 2023, the sales measures of BYD and Tesla can now be seen.
BYD has continuously released promotional measures, and has implemented them three times since November 2023, with a clear sense of urgency.
In November, BYD launched two promotions, involving multiple models from Ocean Net and Wangchao Net.
In late November, a BYD dealer reported that the cash discount range for Qin, Han, Tang, Song and other models under Dynasty Net was expanded to 3000 to 10000 yuan. BYD responded, "This promotion is limited to November and is not an official price reduction. The purpose of the promotion is to accelerate the conversion of fuel to electricity."
On December 1st, BYD Dynasty launched a fuel conversion fund activity on its website, involving some models of Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Yuan. Among them, the Han EV Champion Edition and Han DM-i Champion Edition can enjoy up to 20000 yuan in fuel conversion funds.
Since the beginning of 2023, Tesla has been continuously reducing prices and promoting, which has led to performance pressure and multiple price increases in the fourth quarter of 2023.
On October 27th, the selling price of the Model Y high-performance version was first raised by 14000 yuan to 363900 yuan;
On November 9th, the Model Y Long Range Edition was raised by 2500 yuan to 302400 yuan, and the Model 3 Long Range Renewal was raised by 1500 yuan to 297400 yuan;
On November 14th, the Model Y rear wheel drive version was increased by 2500 yuan to 266400 yuan, and the Model 3 rear wheel drive updated version was increased by 1500 yuan to 261400 yuan.
Starting from November 21st, the price of the Model Y Long Range Edition has been increased by 2000 yuan to 304400 yuan.
Competing for the top selling pure electric vehicle models of the year
Facing 2024, Tesla's global best-selling pure electric vehicle will be directly challenged by BYD.
Based on past financial data, BYD has achieved a development advantage. In the third quarter of 2023, BYD achieved its best quarterly performance in history, with a net profit attributable to shareholders exceeding 10 billion yuan, comparable to the net profit attributable to shareholders in the first half of 2023.
Source: BYD Q3 2023 Report
BYD mentioned that in the third quarter of 2023, competition in the new energy vehicle industry intensified. However, the company demonstrated strong resilience through continuously improving brand strength, expanding scale advantages, and strong industry chain cost control capabilities.
Tesla continued to raise prices in the fourth quarter of 2023, mainly due to pressure on its performance in the third quarter, with a net profit of approximately $1.9 billion (approximately RMB 13.9 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 44%.
In terms of gross profit margin, after surpassing Tesla in the first half of 2023, BYD further widened the gap in the third quarter of 2023, with a gross profit margin of 22.1%, a month on month increase of 3.4 percentage points; Tesla's gross profit margin is 17.9%, its lowest level in nearly two years.
In 2024, BYD will continue to expand its domestic and international markets. Dongwu Securities released a research report stating that BYD is expected to launch the Tengshi N9 and Equation Leopard series models in 2024, and actively promote overseas market layout, with increased overseas market volume helping to boost sales growth. The period from 2024 to 2025 will be a major year for products, with expected sales of approximately 4 million and 5 million units respectively, with year-on-year growth of 33% and 25%.
Looking back at BYD's overseas sales data in 2023, the monthly sales in the first half of the year were around 10000 vehicles, and the monthly sales in the second half of the year exceeded 20000 and 30000 respectively. The sales in December 2023 were 36100 vehicles.
Faced with competition from car companies such as BYD, Tesla launched the "New Year's Gift" on New Year's Day 2024. The Tesla store salesperson introduced that purchasing the Model 3/Y series now offers low interest loans, as well as a limited time and limited edition subsidy of 6000 yuan for the Model 3, as well as referral rewards and limited edition JD shopping cards.