Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has surpassed the $100 billion threshold in dollar-based sales for the year 2024, leaving behind American Tesla for the first time.

The China-based electric vehicle manufacturer BYD announced its financial results for the October-December period of last year and the entire year of 2024. During this period, the company’s revenues reached 274.9 billion yuan ($38 billion), representing a 52.7% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. The net profit for BYD during the same period rose by 73.1% to 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion). In the entire year of last year, the company’s revenues reached 771.1 billion yuan ($107 billion), with a 29% increase from 2023. The net profit of the Chinese manufacturer during the same period increased by 34% to 40.3 billion yuan ($5.4 billion).

SURPASSING TESLA It was noteworthy that BYD’s dollar-based revenues exceeded $100 billion last year, surpassing Tesla for the first time, which had earned $97.7 billion in revenue. While delivering 4.27 million vehicles (fully or partially electric) last year, BYD estimates that it will sell between 5 to 6 million vehicles this year. In addition to announcing a $1 billion investment in Turkey, BYD was leading a prolonged price competition with aggressive discounts on its top-selling electric vehicle models. The Chinese manufacturer was also contributing to the deepening of the price warfare by offering cheap models in China.

A 51% INCREASE IN STOCK VALUE It was remarkable that the shares of BYD, competing with Tesla, increased by approximately 51% this year. The market value of BYD, founded by Chinese billionaire Wang Chuanfu, exceeded $162 billion on March 18, surpassing a combined value of Ford ($39.4 billion), General Motors ($49 billion), and Volkswagen ($66 billion). FACTORY PREPARATION IN HUNGARY According to reports in the German press, BYD, which has struggled to establish itself as a supplier in Germany, is considering establishing a factory with a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles in Hungary following its plans to establish a factory in Turkey. Moreover, BYD has been announcing significant technological innovations in electric vehicles in recent months.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW CHARGING TECHNOLOGY The company had announced the “Super e-Platform” technology on March 18, enabling electric vehicles to be charged at a speed almost as fast as refueling a conventional vehicle. In tests conducted with the new Han L model, the battery had charged up to 470 kilometers of range in five minutes with this rapid charging system. Analysts pointed out that with this new product, BYD was attempting to eliminate one of the biggest obstacles to the adoption of electric vehicles, emphasizing that higher charging speeds provided customers with a clearer path to transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.