BYD Dominates Electric Vehicle Market

Milestone BYD and the Transformation of the Automotive Industry

2026-01-08 From Henrik Bork | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

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The Chinese company has built more electrified cars than Tesla and Volkswagen combined – exports are skyrocketing. What was once ridiculed now dominates the transformation to e-mobility.

BYD has built 15 million electrified vehicles. Thirteen months ago, it was still ten million.(Image: BYD) — BYD has built 15 million electrified vehicles. Thirteen months ago, it was still ten million.
(Image: BYD)

It is not a pleasant diagnosis from a German perspective, but it is clear: China's automotive industry is on its way to becoming a global leader. No milestone illustrates this historic success as clearly as the one achieved on December 18 at BYD's Jinan plant. The Denza N8L, which rolled off the production line that day, was the 15 millionth vehicle built by the OEM.

This figure represents the cumulative total number of pure electric vehicles and hybrids, which are referred to as New Energy Vehicles in China. In this category of "electrified" vehicles, meaning either fully electric or battery-powered with an additional internal combustion engine (hybrids of all kinds), BYD has produced more vehicles worldwide than Tesla and Volkswagen combined.

Tesla remains the global market leader in pure electric vehicles with a total of over eight million vehicles produced. Volkswagen has produced just under three million battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to date.

High Growth at a Low Level

However, when looking at the growth figures in various markets, it quickly becomes clear that the milestone of 15 million vehicles for BYD is only an interim step. One example is Europe. The absolute numbers still seem reassuring. From January to November 2025, BYD sold 160,000 vehicles in Europe, according to recent statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). In the same period, Volkswagen sold over 3.2 million vehicles with combustion, electric, and hybrid drives in Europe. Tesla sold 200,000 pure electric vehicles.

However, the growth rates clearly indicate the direction: BYD was able to sell 276 percent more cars in Europe from January to November 2025 than in the same period the previous year. Volkswagen grew by four percent. Tesla shrank by 28 percent. These figures leave no doubt from the perspective of the Wall Street Journal that "car buyers in Europe are increasingly embracing the portfolio of electric and hybrid vehicles from BYD."

Auto Exports: China Sets New Record

The complete figures for the year 2025 will not be available for another few weeks. However, a new record for the total number of all Chinese auto exports is already in sight. As this figure had already reached around 7.3 million by the end of November, it is expected to rise to over eight million by the end of the year.

This is a number that neither Japan nor Germany ever achieved during the height of their global dominance as automobile nations. China only started seriously exporting automobiles a few years ago and is already the world's largest exporter.

BYD Could Double Exports

No Chinese manufacturer currently exports as much as Chery, but BYD's export growth is rapid. In the first eleven months of 2025, BYD's exports rose by 144 percent compared to the previous year, reaching nearly 900,000 vehicles. This is likely just the beginning. Predictions from Citigroup and Morgan Stanley estimate that BYD will export between 1.6 and 1.8 million vehicles in 2026, effectively doubling its current volume within a single year.

In eleven European automotive markets, BYD has already surpassed Tesla in sales with its newly established dealer network, when comparing the total number of vehicles sold, not just the number of battery electric vehicles (BEV). Looking at the overall markets in the EU, the UK, and the EFTA region, Tesla held a market share of 2.1 percent in November, while BYD had already reached 2.0 percent (based on new registrations).

Europe Becomes a Net Importer from China

All these trends indicate that a historic turning point may have been reached. For the first time, the number of cars imported from China into the EU is set to exceed the number of cars exported from the EU to China. Europe, which has been regarded as a car exporter for decades, will become a net importer of automobiles from China.

This does not include the cars built by German manufacturers in China; these still number in the millions each year, although their quantity is steadily declining. Exports from Europe are low in comparison to the vehicles produced by European manufacturers in China. Nevertheless, China's impending surpassing of the EU in the total number of vehicles transported by ship and rail is another impressive milestone.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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Early Commitment to Hybrids

The two transformations toward electric and intelligent driving, which Chinese manufacturers like BYD have decisively leveraged, have fundamentally changed the power dynamics in the global automotive industry. The third transformation toward AI-defined driving, which China is beginning to lead again, is expected to further cement this reversal in the coming years.

As for BYD, the Shenzhen-based company has earned its success over the past decades through hard work and substantial investments in research and development. When it became the world's first manufacturer to abandon the production of pure internal combustion engines in 2022, the company was still ridiculed by many.

The Development of BYD

"Have you seen their car?" said Elon Musk in an interview with Bloomberg TV on December 27, 2023. "I don’t think they make a good product. I don't think it's particularly attractive. The technology is not very strong." Whether this assessment was accurate at the time or not, it certainly is no longer valid today. With its "Blade Battery," BYD, which manufactures both batteries and cars, has set a new standard in the industry since 2020 and gained the trust of many car buyers. In 2021, the fourth generation of the "DM-i Super Hybrid" technology followed. At the beginning of 2025, BYD introduced its assistance system "God’s Eye" at no additional cost.

No one laughs at BYD anymore. Fifteen million cars and the growth in the European automotive market speak volumes. "By 2025, I want to be number one in the world," BYD founder Wang Chuanfu was quoted in the newspaper Die Welt on September 4, 2011. He is almost there.