BYD just scored a major win against Tesla in one of its biggest markets.
The Chinese electric vehicle giant outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time last month, as Elon Musk’s automaker saw its sales collapse amid furious backlash over its CEO’s politics.
BYD sold 7,230 battery-electric vehicles in April, compared to 7,165 for Tesla, according to JATO Dynamics data.
It’s a major milestone for the Chinese brand, and suggests BYD has taken advantage of Tesla’s alarming decline in Europe.
New Tesla registrations dropped nearly 50% in April compared to the same month last year, while BYD sales surged 169% over the same period, per JATO Dynamics data.
BYD outsold Tesla without even taking hybrid sales into account. Unlike its rival, Tesla only makes battery-powered EVs.
Tesla has taken a battering this year in Europe, its third-largest market after the US and China. The automaker’s European sales were down 30% in the first three months of 2025, according to JATO Dynamics, despite EV sales rising overall.
The automaker has faced a wave of backlash over CEO Musk’s role in the Trump administration and endorsement of German far-right party AfD.
In an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk denied Tesla was facing a sales slump. That was despite Tesla reporting its weakest quarter for deliveries since 2022 last month as it retooled factories for the launch of its updated Model Y.
“Europe is our weakest market. We’re strong everywhere else. Sales are doing well at this point, we don’t anticipate any meaningful sales shortfall,” said Musk.
By contrast, BYD is racing to launch new models as it seeks to capitalize on its explosive growth in Europe.
The Chinese brand unveiled the Dolphin Surf, the European version of its cheap Seagull EV, on Wednesday.
The compact hatchback will go on sale in 15 European markets in June, with prices starting at 23,000 euros ($26,000) — about $19,000 less than Tesla’s cheapest model.
Having crushed Tesla in China, BYD is eyeing aggressive expansion overseas. The EV giant sold 79,000 vehicles outside China last month, nearly double the total in April 2024.
