BYD Isn't Tesla's Only Asian Threat — This EV Maker Is Smashing Records

Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc TSLA is seeing weaker demand for its vehicles in the United States for numerous reasons, including increased competition from foreign automakers launching new vehicles in the United States.

While Tesla’s foe, BYD Co BYDDY, poses a threat to Tesla's global dominance, it could be another Asian automaker that disrupts Tesla in the United States.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Tesla reported second-quarter deliveries of 384,122 units, down 13.5% year-over-year.

While this was the company's global total, recent reports indicate declining sales in the United States, which may be related to CEO Elon Musk‘s increasing involvement in politics and boycotts against the EV brand that occurred during the first half of 2025.

One automotive company seeing an increase in automotive sales, particularly electric vehicles, is Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF.

The South Korean company reported a record 439,280 vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2025, up 10% year-over-year.

"We just wrapped up the strongest first half of Hyundai's history," Hyundai North American operations CEO Randy Parker said, as shared by Electrek.

Along with achieving its best first half since launching in 1986, Hyundai also reported record sales for the second quarter and the month of June, at 235,726 units and 69,702 units, respectively.

While not all Hyundai vehicles were electric, the increased sales come as a new EV plant in Georgia ramps up production after opening in March.

Hyundai's Ioniq 5 EV had 19,092 sales in the first half of the year, up 2% year-over-year.

The company's Ioniq 9, its first three-row electric SUV, began deliveries in May and had 1,013 units sold in the first six months of the year.

Parker said Hyundai is "building momentum with every mile and an increasing lineup of American-made vehicles and new marketing campaigns are helping to win over consumers.”

Read Also: Hyundai Secures One-Year Rare Earth Minerals Supply, Avoids Supply Chain Disruption: Report

Why It's Important: Hyundai's new Georgia plant can produce up to 300,000 vehicles annually, with capabilities to expand to 500,000 units annually.

The auto company has been cutting lease prices on the Ioniq 5, making it one of the most affordable EVs on the market, with deals starting at $170 per month. The vehicle has starting prices of $42,500 to $58,100, depending on the specifications.

The starting price for the Ioniq compares to that of the Tesla Model Y and, in many cases, comes in at a lower cost, depending on specifications and incentives.  

In 2024, Tesla had the two top-selling EVs in the United States. The Ioniq 5 was the fourth-best-selling EV in America in 2024 at 44,400 units sold, a figure that was up 30.9% year-over-year.

Of the vehicles in the top 10 that had been sold the previous year, the Ioniq 5 ranked third for year-over-year increase.

Hyundai sold 30,065 more electric vehicles in the U.S. in 2025 than it did the previous year, trailing only the unit growth of Honda (+40,408) and General Motors (+38,543).

Hyundai's U.S. EV market share of 4.7% in 2024 trailed only Tesla (48.7%), Ford (7.5%) and Chevrolet (5.2%).

With the new EV launch and increased production capabilities, Hyundai looks to be a serious competitor to Tesla in the United States and could also start to chip away at the market share of Ford and General Motors.

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