---
title: "BYD overtakes Tesla as the world's biggest EV seller"
description: "Tesla's 2025 deliveries fell 9% to 1.63 million, while China's BYD sold 2.26 million electric vehicles."
url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/tesla-2025-sales-byd-overtakes
language: en # English
type: news
published: 2026-01-02T16:15:00.000Z
updated: 2026-11-01T22:02:25.000Z
author: "Osamah Ismail"
author_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/en/author/1
section: "Startups"
tags: ["Tesla","BYD","EV","electric vehicles"]
sources: ["Tesla","Bloomberg","TechCrunch"]
image: https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/model-3-social-6b6776b7.jpg
translations:
  ku: https://kurddevelopers.com/news/tesla-2025-sales-byd-overtakes
  ar: https://kurddevelopers.com/ar/news/tesla-2025-sales-byd-overtakes
publisher: Kurd Developers
publisher_url: https://kurddevelopers.com/
---

# BYD overtakes Tesla as the world's biggest EV seller

> Tesla's 2025 deliveries fell 9% to 1.63 million, while China's BYD sold 2.26 million electric vehicles.

![Tesla Model 3. Image: Tesla](https://kurddevelopers.com/uploads/2026/11/model-3-social-6b6776b7.jpg)

On January 2, Tesla published its 2025 delivery figures. It was a tough year for Elon Musk's carmaker.

## The numbers

| | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 1.79 million | **1.63 million** (−9%) |
| BYD (EVs) | — | **2.26 million** |

That makes China's **BYD** the world's top seller of electric vehicles.

## The final quarter

- Tesla delivered **418,227** vehicles in Q4, down 15.6% year on year
- The main reason: the end of the **$7,500** US federal EV tax credit
- Before that, buyers rushed in Q3, when Tesla set a record of 497,099

## Tesla's pivot to AI and robots

Musk is increasingly focused on **AI** and **robotics**, with "sustainable abundance" at the heart of Tesla's Master Plan IV.

**Sources:** Tesla, Bloomberg, TechCrunch

---

Published by [Kurd Developers](https://kurddevelopers.com/) on 2026-01-02. Cite as: “BYD overtakes Tesla as the world's biggest EV seller”, Kurd Developers, https://kurddevelopers.com/en/news/tesla-2025-sales-byd-overtakes