BYD sells 1 million EVs and plug-in hybrids in first quarter, as it extends lead over Tesla

Emerging Chinese automotive giant BYD says it has sold a total of 377,420 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in March, which pushes the company’s total for the first quarter above the 1 million mark.

The NEV numbers include both full battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids – such as its popular new hybrid ute, the Shark 6, and represent a 24.78 per cent increase over the same month in 2024 and 16.9 per cent over February.

The latest month includes a total of 166,109 pure electric vehicles, an increase of 18.73 per cent year-on-year, and 205,310 PHEVs, an increase of 26.95 per cent year-on-year and 6.2 per cent month-on-month.

Over the first three months of 2025, BYD’s NEV sales amounted to 1,000,084, a year-on-year increase of 59.81 per cent, and 416,000 battery electric vehicles, a rises of 39 per cent.

The overall quarterly number is a 34.34 per cent decrease on the fourth quarter of 2024. However, Chinese car sales almost always dip in the first quarter of the year due in part to the Chinese New Year celebration period.

BYD’s success contrast with the difficulties facing its global rival for the top ranked EV maker, Tesla, whose quarterly sales plunged 13 per cent in the first quarter to 336,681, its biggest quarterly fall ever, and well below even forecasts that had already been been downgraded by analysts because of the backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political positions.

Most forecasts have been set at round 440,000 EVs for the March quarter,  but in the last few weeks had been cut to around 350,000, largely due to the backlash against Musk. The original forecasts had factored in the Model Y refresh.

BYD ceased production of all internal combustion engine (ICE) only vehicles in March, 2022, switching to focus on purely electric and PHEVs. It has a growing share of the EV market in Australia.

The company also sells a small range of commercial vehicles, including buses. Commercial vehicles accounted for 6,001 of the NEVs BYD sold in March, a year-on-year increase of 624.76 per cent, though only a 30.09 per cent increase from February.

The announcement of BYD’s March sales numbers comes just a few days after BYD announced that it had surpassed 40,000 vehicle sales in Australia, less than three years after it entered the Australian market.

BYD expects 2025 to see total sales in Australia surpass 40,000, thanks to an ever-expanding lineup of vehicles, including the newly launched BYD Shark 6, Australia’s first PHEV ute, and the Dolphin Essential, Australia’s most affordable EV and the first to break the $30,000 barrier (retailing for $29,990, before on-road costs).