As previously predicted, Tesla achieved its annual delivery target of 1.8 million vehicles in 2023. However, BYD surpassed Tesla in pure electric vehicle sales in the fourth quarter, becoming the world's largest pure electric vehicle manufacturer.
On January 2nd, Tesla announced that its car delivery volume for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 484500 units, with a total delivery of 1.8086 million units for the year, achieving its delivery target of 1.8 million units. According to data released by BYD, its sales of pure electric vehicles in the fourth quarter were 526400 units, surpassing Tesla for the first time in a single quarter.
But looking at the whole year, Tesla's pure electric sales are still higher than BYD's. BYD's annual sales were 3.0244 million vehicles, of which 1.5748 million were pure electric vehicles. Tesla has surpassed BYD by 233800 vehicles, still maintaining its position as the world's best-selling pure electric vehicle.
In terms of growth rate, BYD's pure electric growth momentum is better than Tesla's. BYD's cumulative sales of pure electric passenger cars in 2023 increased by 73% year-on-year, while Tesla's sales increased by 38% during the same period. According to this trend, BYD may surpass Tesla to become the world's best-selling pure electric vehicle by 2024.
Since the beginning of 2023, Tesla has been using significant price reductions globally to stimulate sales growth. This practice of trading profits for sales has exceeded market expectations, and its continuously declining gross profit margin has caused investor concerns.
Tesla's revenue growth in the third quarter was the slowest in three years, with net profit decreasing by 44% compared to the same period last year. Its gross profit margin hit a four-year low (17.9%), while its gross profit margin reached a high of 25.1% in the same period last year.
On the other hand, BYD relies on the advantages brought by scale expansion and vertical integration to continuously improve its profitability. In the second quarter, its gross profit margin has surpassed Tesla, which was originally among the top in the industry, and in the third quarter, its gross profit margin has risen to 22.12%.
Previously, some analysts believed that Tesla could increase profits by selling its FSD full auto drive system, and sales volume was not the only key. Ultimately, Tesla can achieve a rebound in profitability through FSD payment and vertical integration of the supply chain, which is also the view that Tesla CEO Musk himself has always upheld.
Tesla will release its fourth quarter and full year financial reports for 2023 on January 24th Central Time in the United States. Specific performance data and future development strategies will be known at that time.