Sales at Chinese electric car giant BYD have soared this year as it outshines arch-rival Tesla.
BYD – which has been dubbed ‘the Tesla killer’ – sold 986,098 passenger vehicles in the first three months of 2025.
That was 58 per cent higher than in the same period of 2024.
By contrast, industry data showed Tesla had suffered a plunge in sales across Europe as anger over boss Elon Musk’s links to Donald Trump escalated.
Tesla sales are down 41 per cent this year in France – its second biggest market in Europe behind the UK.
They are also down 55 per cent in Sweden and Denmark, nearly 50 per cent in the Netherlands and 12.5 per cent in Norway.
Full charge: BYD – which has been dubbed ‘the Tesla killer’ – sold 986,098 passenger vehicles in the first three months of 2025
Tesla is due to report its full first-quarter sales figures today. Analysts predict sales of around 373,000, down 3.6 per cent year-on-year.
The slump comes as Tesla faces a growing backlash over Musk’s relationship with the
US President and wider forays into politics. Quentin Willson, founder of electric vehicle
campaign group FairCharge and a Tesla owner, said: ‘Never has a car brand suffered such a global fall from grace.’
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