China's BYD Auto has dethroned Elon Musk-run Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) as the world's top-selling electric vehicle (EV) brand for the first time, says a new report.
BYD's global EV sales soared 61% year-over-year to reach 2.18mln units in the second quarter 2022 as more than 354,000 EVs were shipped, an increase of 266% yoy.
Tesla's global sales increased 27% year-over-year to over 254,000 units, but fell short of expectations.
Although Tesla's US business increased, Covid-19 shutdowns negatively affected its China business.
According to Counterpoint Research, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) made up almost 72% of all BYD's EV sales, with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) the rest.
In terms of EV sales, China remained the largest market for BYD, followed by Europe and the United States.
EV sales in China increased by nearly 92% year-over-year to 1.24mln units from 0.64mln units in the second quarter of 2021.
"As the global semiconductor shortage has eased a bit, automakers are able to cater to the increasing demand for EVs. Moreover, EV sales would have been higher if China had not experienced fresh Covid-19 outbreaks during March," said senior analyst Soumen Mandal.
He said China's automotive market is expected to grow even faster in the second half of 2022 but economic downturns, energy crisis, supply chain bottlenecks, and rising geopolitical tensions might hamper growth.