Tesla announced that its sales in China in 2024 reached a record 657,000 cars, an 8.8% increase compared to the previous year. In December, sales surged to 83,000 units, a 12.8% rise from November. Despite these record-breaking monthly and annual sales, the company’s global deliveries for the year fell for the first time.
In 2024, Tesla delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in China, while global deliveries fell by 1.1%, below CEO Elon Musk’s prediction. This decline is attributed to the reduction in European subsidies, a shift in the U.S. market toward lower-priced hybrid vehicles, and increased competition, particularly from China’s BYD.
Despite these challenges, Tesla narrowly outpaced BYD, as the Chinese car makers can only manage to sell 1.76 million cars globally, while Tesla pushed its sales to 1.79 million. This edge was achieved even though Tesla reduced its global workforce in 2024 to adjust to lower demand and increased competition from Chinese EV makers.
As for BYD, its passenger vehicle sales rose 41% to over 4.25 million units in 2024, with overseas EV sales increasing 71.9% to 417,204 units, missing its 2024 target of 450,000 units due to a 17% additional tariff from the EU. Additionally, 20% of BYD’s car sales went to Brazil, but this may change as the local authorities are investigating working conditions at a local BYD factory.
