Tesla delivered 564,000 all-electric vehicles in the first half of 2022, and while this represented a 27% year-over-year growth, it fell short of the

BYD “overtakes” Tesla as world’s biggest EV maker in 1H22, but there’s a catch

submited by

Style Pass

2022-07-05 17:30:09

Tesla delivered 564,000 all-electric vehicles in the first half of 2022, and while this represented a 27% year-over-year growth, it fell short of the numbers posted by one of the company’s competitors, the Warren Buffett-backed BYD. In comparison to Tesla, BYD sold 641,000 electric vehicles in China during the first and second quarters.

But there is a catch. While news pieces stating that Tesla has been dethroned by BYD as the world’s biggest electric vehicle producer by sales would likely be quite numerous today, there is some nuance between the vehicles sold by the two “EV makers.” Tesla’s over half a million cars sold in 1H22 are all battery-electric cars without an internal combustion engine.

As noted by the Financial Times, many of BYD’s models are plug-in hybrids, so they are not exactly full electric cars. Despite this, they are still counted as “zero emission” vehicles under China’s sales rules. BYD’s sales in the first half of 2022 are still impressive, as they showed a growth of over 300% year-over-year. However, it would not be too farfetched to state that BYD’s position as the “largest EV maker” today was accomplished through a technicality.

That being said, BYD actually accomplished something far more significant in the first half of the year, and it is in no way related to China counting cars with a combustion engine as zero-emission vehicles. According to Seoul-based SNE Research, BYD had outpaced LG Energy Solution in terms of monthly market share since April.