BYD’s (BYDDF, Financials) 2024 revenue climbed to 777 billion yuan ($107 billion), overtaking Tesla’s (TSLA, Financials) $97.7 billion as the company’s hybrid vehicle sales helped drive global growth, according to the company’s annual report.
With battery-electric cars making up 1.76 million of those sales, the Chinese carmaker sold 4.3 million cars worldwide throughout the year. That number was near Tesla’s 1.79 million vehicles, so closing the battery-powered car difference between the two competitors. Rising demand for plug-in hybrids, a category Tesla does not compete in, also helped BYD.Nearly half the price of Tesla’s Model 3 in the same market, BYD introduced the Qin L, a cheap electric car costing 119,800 yuan in China, or around $16,500. The action shows a more general tendency among Chinese carmakers to underprice international rivals.Apart from its growing model range, BYD unveiled a new battery technology it claims can recharge an electric car in five minutes, far quicker than Tesla’s present supercharging time of about 15 minutes. At no additional cost, the business will also make its driver-assistance technology standard across all models.Driven by robust sales and ongoing support from Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company headed by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), shares of BYD have risen more than 50% year to date.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
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