Tesla vs BYD. Top 10 largest electric car manufacturers in 2023 [world ranking]

At the end of last year, the global electric vehicle market a historic event has taken place: Tesla, which has been confidently holding the lead for years The company of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk has held the lead since 2019, when it overtook Nissan., lost for the first time to the Chinese auto giant BYD. It was this event that Visual Capitalist dedicated a new infographic, so keep in one image the data on the distribution of forces in the global «trains» market by the end of 2023.

In general, nothing new (that has not been previously reported) infographic based on the recent TrendForce research does not contain, but it is a good simple visualization of the current state of play in the «clean» battery electric vehicle (BEV) market. So, all in all, it’s a great opportunity to take another look at the current electric vehicle landscape on a global scale before the first quarter is almost over.

Owners «electric cars». How the balance of power in the all-electric car market changed in 2023

At one time, it was Tesla that started the revolution and for a long time remained at the forefront of electric vehicle progress, but gradually the competition increased and the position of the famous American electric vehicle manufacturer weakened. The main «spectacle» of the recent years in the electric vehicle market is the confrontation between Tesla and BYD. During 2023, BYD rapidly catching up with Tesla and othersand by the end of the last quarter of 2023, it eventually came out ahead, as follows we have already described separately in one of our texts.

Currently, the 10 largest manufacturers of all-electric electric vehicles control 65% of the total market: Tesla holds the lead with a 19.9% share, and BYD is breathing down its neck with 17.1%. Another Chinese automaker, GAC Aion, came in third with a 5.2% share, while SAIC-GM-Wuling and Volkswagen were in fourth and fifth place with even smaller shares. Looking at the breakdown by country, Tesla is the only American company in the top 10, while China is represented by a quartet led by BYD with a combined share of 29.5%. The German automotive industry in the top 10 consists of Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz (10.8% between the three), while South Korea, represented by Hyundai/Kia, holds 4.9% of the market.

Interestingly, BYD’s strategy is based not so much on its home market of China as on aggressive international expansion, primarily to Europe. At the same time, Toyota, Renault, Stellantis, and other traditional automakers tighten as much as possible transition to electric models and reduce investments in this area. And while the EU anti-subsidy investigation, which could well escalate into a trade war with China, the European Commission is preparing introduce a special duty on Chinese electric vehicles retroactively.

It remains to be recalled that by the end of 2023, global sales of new electric cars («pure» BEV + PHEV hybrids) increased to 13 million (TrendForce data) — an increase of 29.8% year-on-year and at the same time a significant slowdown in growth compared to 54.2% in 2022. According to estimates EV-VolumesIn 2023, about 14.2 million electric cars (BEV + PHEV) were sold worldwide — the growth rate slowed to 35% from 55% in 2022. Of these, 10 million were «net» battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and the remaining 4.2 million were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and extended range electric vehicles (EREVs). In 2023, electric models accounted for 15.8% (11.1% BEV + 4.7% PHEV) of global passenger car sales, up from 13.0% in 2022. At the end of 2023, there were about 40 million electric cars in active use worldwide (70% of which were BEVs and the remaining 30% were PHEVs).

BYD’s final victory over Tesla in 2024

This year, BYD is likely to overtake Tesla and become No. 1 in terms of all-electric car production for the whole year. Analysts predict that in 2024 Tesla will ship up to 2 million cars (against 1.8 million in 2023), and BYD targets 4.2 million — 2 million BEVs and 2.2 million PHEVs.

According to the EV-Volumes forecast, in 2024, global sales of electric vehicles will reach 17.8 million units (+25% compared to 2023). At the same time, BEV sales will grow to 12.8 million, and PHEV sales will increase to 5 million.

Electric vehicle market in Ukraine

For Ukraine, the relatively low cost of electricity and tax incentives Zero customs clearance and no VAT. Currently, only an excise tax of — €1 per kWh of battery capacity continue to drive demand for electric cars despite the war and economic difficulties: in 2023, Ukraine imported 38 thousand electric vehicles (4 times more than in pre-war 2021), and in the first two months of 2024, Ukrainians purchased more than 8 thousand electric vehicles — eight times the pre-war level.

Among used electric cars in Ukraine, Tesla and Nissan are the most popular, and among new ones, Volkswagen of Chinese origin and BYD are the most popular.

China’s dominance in the «green» minerals market and the steady de-Chineseization of the electric vehicle market, in particular in Ukraine — this is already separate story China's current dominance in the global supply chain is not primarily about owning resources, as in Saudi Arabia or Russia, but rather about efficiently processing these same minerals (China accounts for 60 to 90% of the processing of most minerals) that are mined elsewhere.. However, there is little doubt that there are still many interesting things to come: this market is expected to have a small number of winners, many losers, and a lot of blood on the floor.