Did Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Pass Tesla As The World's Largest EV Maker? Not Quite And Here's Why

The crown as the world’s top electric vehicle producing company has been held by Tesla Inc TSLA for years. While many are taking on Tesla with the goal of displacing the company as the EV leader, the title hasn’t been lost quite yet.

What Happened: Headlines of Tesla losing the title of the world’s largest electric vehicle producer filled the internet this week. This came after Tesla’s quarterly production report and the report from rival BYD Company ADR BYDDY, a Chinese automaker.

“Tesla is still the world’s largest electric car producer despite what you are hearing,” electric vehicle website Electrek shared.

Tesla reported 254,695 deliveries in the second quarter, up 26.5% year-over-year. The total was down 18% from the 310,048 vehicles delivered in the first quarter, a rare quarter-over-quarter drop from the company.

Tesla has now reported deliveries of 564,743 electric vehicles in the first half of 2022.

BYD, which counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKABRKB and CEO Warren Buffett as a large investor, reported deliveries of 638,157 electric vehicles in the first half of 2022. BYD is one of the 10 largest stock investments by Berkshire Hathaway. 

The big difference is in the use of the phrase electric vehicle. Of BYD’s total “electric vehicles” delivered in the first half of the year, 314,638 were plug-in hybrids.

Plug-in hybrids have batteries that can be charged similar to an all-electric vehicle. Plug-ins also feature a traditional internal combustion engine that uses gasoline.

So when comparing pure electric vehicles, Tesla outsold BYD and remains the electric vehicle leader in 2022.

Related Link: Tesla Q1 Earnings Highlights: Electric Vehicle Maker Hits Record Revenue, Deliveries, Profits And Margins 

Why It’s Important: China counts plug-in hybrids as electric vehicles, which could mean this won’t be the last time that Tesla is listed as coming in second to BYD or another Chinese automotive company.

While Tesla saw a drop quarter-over-quarter in production and deliveries, the company reported June was the highest vehicle production month in company history.

Tesla faces competition in China and elsewhere from many automotive companies that after years of producing traditional ICE vehicles are transitioning to plans for all-electric vehicle models in the future.

This could mean in the future Tesla is displaced as the leader of electric vehicles produced. The important thing will be to announce Tesla being replaced as the leader when comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. 

Tesla will report its second-quarter earnings after market close on July 20.