Tesla And BYD Join The Good EV News Wave

On Tuesday, Tesla Inc TSLA disclosed its second-quarter EV production and delivery figures and it topped Wall Street estimates with both as its deliveries fell less than expected. Still, the second quarter marked the first time the all-electric king posted two straight quarters of declines. These figures are the closest approximation of Tesla’s sales figures which the EV pioneer does not disclose.

Also on July 2nd, BYD posted its second quarter EV sales with which it closed the gap with Tesla after returning the world’s number one EV vendor title in the first quarter when its sales fell even more than Tesla's. BYD maintained steady growth in EV sales and set a new sales record for plug-in EVs in June.

Tesla managed to beat estimates with price cuts and incentives. 

During the quarter ended on June 30th, Tesla made 410,831 of its EVs that include Model Y crossover utility vehicles, Model 3 sedans and the new Cybertruck pickups, Model X SUV and flagship Model S sedan, while delivering 443,956 EVs, surpassing FactSet StreetAccount’s consensus estimate of 439,000. However, deliveries did contract by 4.8% YoY but also grew from the first quarter by 14.8%. Back in April, Tesla reported its first YoY decline in deliveries as first quarter deliveries dropped by 8.5%. Besides challenges such as temporary factory shutdowns due to an alleged arson attack at its German Gigafactory and shipping delays caused by the Red Sea conflict, Tesla is also facing increased competition with its ageing lineup, which is why it offered discounts and initatiated a price war to boost demand, simultaneoulsy hurting its margins. 

Meanwhile, BYD reported its sales surged while Tesla’s continue to drop. 

In June, BYD reported record new EV sales, surpassing its prior highest from December 2023. In June, BYD sold 340,211 passenger plug-in EVs which presents a YoY growth of 35%. With 341,658 NEVs, out of which 1,447 units are commercial NEVs, BYD also delivered 195,032 passenger PHEVs. This is BYD’s fourth consecutive record for PHEVs as the segment grew 57.93% YoY, rising 5.96% from May’s figure. As for overseas markets, BYD sold 26,995 EVs, which is a 156.22% YoY rise but a 28% drop from May. 

As for the second quarter, BYD sold a record 986,720 NEVs, which is a YoY growth of 40.25% and quarter over quarter rise of 57.56%, making BYD the largest seller of rechargeable vehicles globally. Passenger NEVs  also made a new record as 982,747 sold passenger plug-ins, representing a YoY growth rate of 40.34% and quarter-over-quarter increase of 57.39%.

Despite the better than expected deliveries, Tesla has undoubtedly hit a speed bump after years of impressive growth. It did warn back in January that deliveries growth in 2024 would be "notably lower" as the boost from from months-long price cuts begins to fade. But meanwhile, BYD continued to grow with EV upstarts like Nio Inc NIO having doubled its second quarter deliveries to 57,373 EVs, topping its own guidance. On Monday, Nio reported a stellar second quarter as it posted a new record. Along with record second quarter deliveries, Nio also reported record high deliveries for June. In June alone, Nio delivered 21,209 vehicles, more specifically 11,581 SUVs and 9,628 sedans. In May, Nio launched its new lower-priced brand Onvo which is challenging Tesla directly, more specifically its best-selling Model Y, which is also the world’s best-selling EV. Therefore, although Tesla’s delivery figures came in better than expected, its rivals are doing even better. All in all, the EV market had a better-than-expected June.

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