Chinese automaker BYD on Monday said it sold 1.6 million battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2023, a significant increase over the roughly 900,000 BEVs the company sold last year.
BEVs refer to electric-only vehicles.
Tesla (TSLA) -), on the other hand, said Tuesday that it delivered approximately 484,000 BEVs in the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing its annual total to 1.81 million, a 38% year-over-year increase and a new record.
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These numbers were fueled by high production and delivery numbers for Tesla's popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles; Tesla delivered 1.74 million of these models for the year. The company's other models, which include the newly released Cybertruck and the more expensive Model S, clocked only 68,874 deliveries.
Tesla in 2022 produced 1.37 million vehicles.
Tesla said it will post its fourth-quarter earnings results Jan. 24.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives called the numbers a "clear win" for the company.
The whole picture
Though BYD's BEV sales figures remain below Tesla's numbers, the automaker, unlike Tesla, has not confined itself solely to the production of fully electric vehicles. BYD also produces a range of hybrid vehicles.
In total, BYD sold about 3.02 million vehicles for the year, made up of around 1.4 million plug-in hybrids and 1.6 million BEVs. The company said that the total numbers represent a 61.9% year-over-year increase.
BYD in 2022 produced a total of 1.88 million vehicles. In 2021, the automaker produced a total of 607,119 vehicles. The automaker halted its production of solely gas-powered cars in 2022.
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Electric vehicle growth
The growth posted by both automakers comes at the tail end of a challenging year for the EV industry. Consumer sentiment toward EVs, spurred by high prices and a lack of infrastructure, waned; price cuts, led by Tesla, ate into already tight margins; traditional automakers announced pullbacks in EV spending.
And while EV adoption is set to hit new records in 2023, the rate of that growth fell. Global passenger EV sales grew 60% between 2021 and 2022, from 6.5 million to 10.5 million.
Global passenger EV sales are set to grow only about 34% between 2022 and 2023, from 10.5 million to around 14 million.
Though BYD, which is known for its lower pricing, has no current plans to break into the American market, the company has been expanding overseas, specifically in Europe. BYD said in December that it is planning to build a new production facility in Hungary.
Shares of Tesla, which more than doubled in 2023, remained relatively flat Tuesday morning, following the release of the production and delivery numbers.
Ives maintained his outperform rating and $350 price target for the stock.
Contact Ian with tips via email, ian.krietzberg@thearenagroup.net, or Signal 732-804-1223.
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