This change at the top of the electric car market was widely expected. The only debate was whether it take place in the last quarter of 2023 or early in 2024.
Now, we know. With both Tesla (TSLA) and BYD (BYDDF) reporting fourth quarter delivery numbers in the last few days, the switch at No. 1 is now complete.
Tesla delivered more vehicles than expected in the fourth quarter, but the beat wasn’t enough to keep the U.S. car maker ahead of China’s BYD in global electric-car sales.
Tesla delivered 484,507 vehicles in the last three months, beating analysts’ average estimate for 483,173 deliveries.
However, BYD sold 526,409 fully electric vehicles in the quarter to become the new No. 1 in EVs. BYD’s faster growth is being driven by a broad lineup of cheaper models on sale in China. (I added BYD to my Jubak Picks, 50 Stocks, and Volatility Portfolios on December 28 after I made the ADR pick #8 in my Special Report: 10 Great Growth Stocks That Are Getting Greater on my JubakAM.com subscription site.)
For the year, Tesla delivered 1.8 million vehicles for the year. That exceeded the company’s recent targets but fell short of a year-old boost from founder Elon Musk that the company had the potential to produce 2 million cars. Wall Street sees the company delivering 2.1 million vehicles in 2024.
Despite strong sales in its home market of China, BYD doesn’t sell in the United State, where its vehicles would face a 27.5% import tariff and other barriers.
The United States and China are Tesla’s two biggest markets.
Hi Jim,
Quite a while ago you mentioned in one of your posts “Tellurian Inc.”
Can you enlighten me on this stock, please.
Thanks in advance.
Eytan Admoni