BYD Co. Outperforms Tesla in Q4 EV Sales: Net Income Rises 75% in 2023
The preliminary net income for 2023 that BYD Company, a leading electric vehicle company, reported was between 29 billion yuan ($4 billion) and 31 billion yuan, which is a 75% increase from the previous year’s forecast. However, this figure was lower than the average estimate of 31.5 billion yuan that was provided by analysts, which resulted in a decrease of 4% in BYD shares and a decrease of 37% over the course of the previous year. The reason for the discrepancy is that the income figure fell short of the analysts’ estimate, which caused a 4% decline in the value of BYD shares.
BYD’s quarterly sales of electric vehicles surpass those of Tesla
Tesla delivered 484,507 electric vehicles (EVs) in the October-to-December period, falling short of the 526,409 vehicles handed over by Warren Buffett-backed BYD, mostly in China. The company surpassed Tesla Inc. to become the largest global seller of electric vehicles for the first time, selling 526,409 fully electric vehicles. This achievement was a first for the company. This accomplishment has been attributed to the extensive selection of reasonably priced models that BYD offers in China, which is the largest auto market in the world. But the journey was not without its share of difficulties. The Chinese company is exporting 3.02 million cars, with 1.4 million of them being plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Tesla’s year-end sales push mostly paid off, helping it deliver 1.8 million vehicles this year, but fell short of CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious 2 million annual internal target. Tesla increased discounts and offered incentives like six months of free fast charging if customers took deliveries by December-end, in a bid to boost sales before some variants of its compact Model 3 sedan lose U.S. federal tax credits in 2024. This helped it post a growth of 11% over the immediately previous quarter, higher than estimates of 473,253. Tesla made a record 494,989 vehicles in the quarter after a production halt in the third quarter to upgrade assembly lines, taking total production in 2023 to 1.85 million units.
Market Challenges and Tensions in Geopolitics
Geopolitical tensions make things even harder for the company. The European Commission is taking a close look at three automakers. The commission’s task is to determine whether assistance from the Chinese government has boosted these companies’ unfair competitive edge. BYD is one of them. The commission’s task is to determine whether assistance from the Chinese government has boosted these companies’ unfair competitive edge. At the same time, companies in the technology and auto industries are also having to deal with unstable market conditions. Amazon and iRobot, for example, have dropped their plans to merge because the EU antitrust authorities do not like the idea. iRobot announced a major reorganization that will result in 31% fewer jobs.
