The Tesla haters were out this morning with the news that Chinese automaker BYD had toppled Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles. There is only one problem: it is not true.
Publications by Financial times until the independentand axios crowed that BYD sold 641,000 vehicles in the first half of 2022. That’s quite a few thousands more than Tesla’s 564,000.
But they don’t contain any crucial analysis that is easy to understand if you take five minutes to read BYD . Financial Data†
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Among the 641,000 vehicles were not only pure electric, but also plug-in hybrid vehicles. By comparison, Tesla is all-electric, honey. It’s a pretty bad mistake when it comes to accurate reporting.
So, who is BYD?
Despite being an industrial powerhouse in China, BYD is a lesser known company outside of China.
BYD (Build your dreams – yeah, For real) was founded in 1995, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The company has two major subsidiaries: automotive and electrical.
The car company makes cars, busese-bikes, trucks and forklifts and even made a Skyrail (assume) hyperloop†
The electrical subsidiary makes batteries for EVs, mobile phones and solar panels.
The company has a mighty sales target of producing 1.5 million cars by 2022. Since the company has made 600,000 vehicles so far this year, it could hit at least 1 million. In any case, it is an increase of 325 percent compared to the same period last year.
In fact, it goes all in. BYD ceased production of ICE vehicles in March and announced a commitment to make EVs only and plug-in hybrids in April.
The company currently distributes to China, Europe and the US, and plans to launch its ATTO 3 EV in Australia later this year.
The strength of BYD is its diversity
It’s easy to dismiss BYD because it lacks Tesla’s glamor and hyperbolic leadership.
But unlike Tesla, which only focuses on electric cars, BYD’s diverse portfolio is hugely beneficial, especially given the supply chain problems and material shortages of recent years.
In the second quarter of 2022, Tesla shipped 254,695 EVs worldwide, down nearly 18% from the previous period† It is partly due to global supply chain restrictions, plant closures in Shanghai and delays in launching new plants in Berlin and Austin.
In reality, the more you produce, the more power you have in building preferential relationships with suppliers, and local production is a huge benefit to the company. It doesn’t hurt that the company is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers or.
Speaking of big, the company has even opened the world’s largest production facility for face masks in March 2020! That’s agility in action.
BYD is here to lend Tesla a helping hand
And with Tesla slowed by material shortages, BYD may just be the one to get things moving.
In June, the company’s Executive Vice President, Lian Yubo, told Chinese media:
“We are now good friends with Elon Musk and we will be recharging him very soon.”
In the end, whoever produces the most EVs is a win for the transition from ICEs. I’d love to see plug-in hybrids dropped by the wayside, but the auto industry has been surprisingly quiet about shutdown plans.
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