BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese automaker BYD Corp posted a 21 percent rise in sales of electric vehicles in the second quarter, narrowing the gap with Tesla after handing the title of world’s top seller of electric vehicles to its U.S. rival in the first quarter.
BYD sold 426,039 electric vehicles in the April-June quarter, according to Reuters calculations based on its monthly sales reports. That’s about 12,000 fewer vehicles than Tesla’s estimated second-quarter deliveries.
Tesla is expected to report a 6% drop in vehicle deliveries in the April-June quarter on Tuesday, the first time the U.S. company is expected to post two consecutive quarters of declines, as it faces tough competition in China and sluggish demand due to a lack of new affordable models.
The company could again cede its title of electric vehicle champion to BYD if actual results turn out to be weaker than expected, with Barclays forecasting an 11% drop in deliveries in the second quarter, the biggest ever for Tesla.
Tesla has hit a snag after years of rapid growth that have helped it become the world’s most valuable automaker. In January, the automaker warned that delivery growth in 2024 would be “significantly weaker” as the positive effect of months-long price cuts fades.
The electric vehicle maker has cut production of its best-selling electric car, the Model Y, by double-digit percentages at its Shanghai factory since March to cope with falling demand for its older models in China, its second-largest market after the United States, Reuters reported in May.
By comparison, its main Chinese competitor BYD has maintained steady growth in its electric vehicle sales, while newcomers to the sector, such as Nio, have seen explosive growth in the last quarter. NIO’s vehicle deliveries in the second quarter more than doubled to 57,300 units.
Price cuts and a growing shift in consumer demand toward electric and hybrid vehicles from gasoline-powered vehicles are the main reasons for Chinese electric vehicle makers’ strong sales in recent months, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Sales of new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in China, accounted for 46.7 percent of total car sales in May, a new monthly record, according to CPCA data.
(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
