As Tesla flags, its hungry Chinese rivals are having a great week
Apu Gomes via Getty Images; Bay Ismoyo/AFP via Getty Images
- Tesla annual sales declined for the first time in over a decade.
- The US EV giant sold 1.79 million cars in 2024, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million sold in 2023.
- Tesla is still the world's largest EV maker but Chinese rivals like BYD are closing in on it.
Chinese auto companies like BYD are giving Tesla a run for its money this week.
On Thursday, Tesla announced that it had delivered 1.79 million vehicles last year, a 1% drop from the 1.81 million vehicles it delivered in 2023. This is the first time Tesla's annual sales have declined in over a decade.
Tesla shares fell by as much as 8% on the same day, trading as low as $373.40 before paring losses.
Tesla's Chinese rivals, on the other hand, saw a rise in sales at the end of 2024.
BYD said on Wednesday that it had sold 1.76 million battery electric cars in 2024, a 12% increase from the 1.57 million cars it sold in 2023.
Smaller EV makers like Nio and Xpeng saw similar improvements in their sales figures as well.
Nio said in a statement on Wednesday that it had delivered 221,970 vehicles in 2024, a 38.7% increase from the 160,038 cars it delivered in 2023.
Xpeng delivered 190,068 vehicles last year, a 34% increase from the 141,601 vehicles delivered in 2023, per a filing made on Wednesday.
To be sure, Tesla is still the world's largest EV maker. The company played a pioneering role in popularizing EVs when it first burst into the scene with the Roadster in 2008.
But the Elon Musk-led EV giant had to engage in a price war in the past year to fend off its rivals.
Besides slashing prices for its vehicles in China, Tesla also doled out incentives like three months of free Supercharging and its Full Self Driving (Supervised) beta software to entice US customers.
Back in January 2024, Musk told investors in an earnings call that Chinese automakers are the "most competitive car companies in the world."
"If there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world," Musk said.
Tesla, BYD, Nio, and Xpeng did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.