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China's best-selling carmaker BYD sold a record number of electric and hybrid cars worldwide last year, even as fierce competition took hold in the domestic market.
Tesla's biggest rival sold 4.3mn EVs and hybrids by 2024, above the 3.6mn target set earlier, according to a company report. “Champion of China, champion of the world,” the company said in a social media post on Wednesday.
BYD sold more than 1.76mn pure EVs last year, narrowing the gap with Tesla in the race to become the world's best-selling EV company by 2024. Tesla's fourth quarter sales figures, due later Thursday, should reach 515,000. to meet its 2024 target of 1.81mn EVs sold.
Li Auto, China's first profitable EV startup, Stellantis-backed Leapmotor and smartphone maker Xiaomi also surpassed their targets, selling 500,000, 290,000 and 135,000 EVs respectively. respectively in 2024.
China is expected to sell more EVs, including clean battery cars and plug-in hybrids, than vehicles with internal combustion engines for the first time in 2025, thanks to hundreds of billions of dollars in government subsidies over the past decade.
Automakers have also been helped by a trade-in program launched last April that allows buyers to get Rmb20,000 ($2,740) to trade in an old gas-powered car for an EV.
But while other big names have done well, great competition and a prolonged price war has put player ratings under pressure. Many companies such as Xpeng and Nio have fallen short of their sales targets, even as they record growth.
“Competition in the market is very fierce,” said Yale Zhang, managing director at Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. “The biggest companies are taking a big slice of the pie, while most of the smaller groups are struggling.”
The merger is already reshaping the world's largest EV market. Once high-flying startups like HiPhi and Baidu-backed Jidu have collapsed in the past year. Auto conglomerate Geely merged its sub-brand Zeekr with Lynk & Co in November to “reorganize operations”.
“Economies of scale are more important than ever for automakers as the industry shifts to EVs,” Zhang added.
Analysts also pointed out that the entry of tech groups such as Xiaomi and Huawei has increased competition.
As of December 31, Xiaomi has sold more than 135,000 units of its own model, the SU7 sedan, which was launched in late March, surpassing its goal of 130,000 cars. Founder Lei Jun said Wednesday the group aims to more than double that by 2025 by delivering 300,000 EVs.
“The country's EV market is huge, so even the niche sector can see great demand,” said Li Yanwei, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Manufacturers Association.
“Xiaomi's SU7 car has made a splash by meeting the needs of consumers to own (a car) at an attractive price.”
President Xi Jinping acknowledged the success of the industry in his New Year's address. “(China's) annual production volume of new energy vehicles exceeded 10mn units for the first time,” Xi said in a televised speech on Tuesday.