BYD is further expanding its sales advantage over Tesla in the UK market, moving further ahead of Elon Musk's Tesla in Europe's main plug-in car market. Data released by the British automotive industry group on Wednesday showed that BYD registered nearly six times as many new cars as Tesla last month.
So far this year, BYD's sales have surged more than fivefold to 39,103 vehicles, while Tesla's sales have fallen 4.5% to 35,455 vehicles.
BYD's rise has been as rapid as a rocket. When the UK surpassed Germany to become Europe's largest market for pure electric vehicles last year, BYD's registrations were only 8,788. Tesla’s sales are almost six times that of BYD.
With BYD's rapid rise this year, the UK has become its largest market outside China. Meanwhile, Tesla has been hit hard in Europe, both by increased competition and the public backlash against Musk.