Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue last year, becoming the first EV company to achieve that milestone.
This was driven by BYD‘s dominance in the Chinese market and its rising presence in overseas markets.
According to the Financial Times (FT), BYD’s revenue surged 29% year-on-year to 777 billion yuan. It reached $107 billion in U.S. dollars, surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time.
Tesla has yet to surpass $100 billion in revenue. It posted $98 billion in revenue last year, and sales are declining this year amid consumer backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s right-leaning political actions.
BYD’s 2023 revenue of 777 billion yuan (approx. $107 billion) significantly exceeded the market forecast of 766 billion yuan (approx. $105.7 billion).
Unlike Tesla, which only produces fully electric vehicles, BYD manufactures internal combustion engine cars, pure electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Since last year, plug-in hybrid vehicles have led the EV market, creating a favorable market environment for BYD.
As a result, BYD’s net profit surged 34% last year, reaching 40 billion yuan (approx. $5.5 billion).
Having already overtaken Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker, BYD is shifting its focus from market share to profitability after winning China’s EV price war.
Serena Shen, an automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said that market-leading companies like BYD are now abandoning strategies that sacrifice price for market share.
Shen explained that instead, they are trying to raise retail prices through innovation and model improvements.
Meanwhile, BYD, which has dominated the Chinese market, is expanding its presence overseas.
This move aims to outpace traditional automakers like Germany’s Volkswagen and Japan’s Toyota in the European and Southeast Asian markets.
Last month, BYD’s overseas sales exceeded 400,000 units, accounting for over 10% of its total sales of over 4 million units. The company has also secured nearly $6 billion to expand its market share abroad.
BYD, which accounted for about 16% of China’s overseas car exports in January and February, opened car factories in Thailand and Uzbekistan in July last year.
