BYD outsells Tesla in Europe for the first time

BYD has sold more pure electric cars than Tesla in Europe for the first time. New figures from Jato Dynamics show China’s BYD sold 7,231 fully-electric cars in Europe last month, compared to Tesla’s 7,165.

April 2025 represented another drop in European sales for Elon Musk’s languishing Tesla, with total volumes down 49 per cent year-on-year.

In contrast, BYD saw an increase of 359 per cent over the same period thanks to its broader line-up of fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

BYD’s rapid expansion has already pushed it ahead of established European car brands – outselling Fiat, Dacia, and Seat in the UK; Fiat and Seat in France; Seat in Italy; and Fiat in Spain.

In Ireland, BYD sales are up over 39 per cent year-to-date (1,225) and ahead of the likes of Volvo, Cupra, MG and Tesla.

This growth comes even before production begins at BYD’s new plant in Hungary.

Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics said BYD’s dislodgement of Tesla is “a watershed moment for Europe’s car market”.

“Although the difference between the two brands’ monthly sales totals may be small, the implications are enormous,” he said. “This is a watershed moment for Europe’s car market, particularly when you consider that Tesla has led the European BEV market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022.”

According to Jato’s stats, a total of 1,078,521 new cars were registered in April 2025, 1,399 more units than the same month in 2024.

Year-to-date registrations, covering the period between January and April 2025, totalled 4,467,681 units, or just 6,560 more than during the same period of 2024.