BYD overtakes VW as top seller

BYD Co. overtook Volkswagen Group (VW) as China’s best-selling car brand in 2023, clear evidence its all-in bet on electric vehicles (EVs）is paying dividends and helping it pass some of the world’s biggest legacy names.

BYD reported 2.4 million new car registrations in China last year, according to data from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATRC). That new data give BYD a total market share in China of 11%, a rise of 3.2 percentage points compared with a year earlier.

BYD had overtaken VW as China’s best-selling car brand on a quarterly basis earlier last year, with the new data showing that holds true for the full-year results.

Visitors inspect a BYD electric vehicle during an auto show in Shenzhen in this file photo. BYD Co. overtook Volkswagen Group as China’s best-selling car brand in 2023. Xinhua

VW was China’s best-selling brand since at least 2008, when CATRC information became available.

For its part, VW sold some 2.3 million vehicles in China last year for a year-on-year decrease of 0.2% and a market share of 10.27%. That’s compared with 2.57 million new cars sold from BYD for an 11.85% market share, Car News China quoted data released by the China Passenger Car Association as saying.

Last year, BYD sold 1.6 million fully battery-electric vehicles, compared with Tesla’s 1.8 million overall sales. Adding up sales for all so-called new energy vehicles, including battery-only vehicles and plug-in hybrids, BYD sold a whooping 3 million vehicles in 2023.

BYD’s EV-only sales in the fourth quarter were enough to surpass Tesla for the first time as the largest seller globally.

Among the other top five brands in China last year, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. both saw their market shares and sales volumes fall. Domestic player Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. did benefit from increased sales, though its share held flat.