Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers, including BYD, Polestar and XPeng, outsold Tesla in Europe in February, data from research firm JATO Dynamics showed, highlighting the growing competitiveness of Chinese EVs. In February, Chinese-owned car brands registered 19,800 new EVs in Europe, outpacing Tesla which registered just 15,700 units. In the same month last year, the former registered 23,182 units compared with the 28,131 registered by Tesla, JATO Dynamics said. Best-selling Chinese car brands were Volvo, BYD and Polestar. While Volvo recorded a 30% drop in battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations, BYD and Polestar made substantial gains, with increases of 94% and 84%, respectively. Xpeng also performed well with more than 1,000 units, closely followed by Leapmotor with almost 900.
Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said Tesla is undergoing major changes, facing growing EV competition and phasing out its top-selling Model Y ahead of a refreshed version, while also dealing with the impact of Elon Musk's political activity. According to Munoz, brands with fewer models like Tesla are more exposed to sales drops during model changeovers, as registrations typically decline before new versions become widely available. Despite external pressures, Chinese automakers delivered a solid performance in the last two years, with some brands posting growth in European sales. SAIC Motor posted a 26.1% sales increase across the EU, the UK and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, even as overall new EU car registrations fell 3% year-on-year in the first two months of 2025, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (EAMA).
BYD released its 2024 annual report, with revenue reaching CNY777.1 billion – the first time in its history to surpass the CNY700 billion mark. The figure also exceeded Tesla's 2024 revenue of USD97.69 billion, marking the first time since 2018 that BYD has outpaced Tesla in annual revenue. Geely Auto also released its 2024 financial results, reporting a revenue of CNY240.2 billion and a 213% surge in net profit to CNY16.6 billion. The company's globalization strategy showed strong results, with revenue in Eastern Europe up 76.7%, rapid expansion in premium markets across the Middle East and Europe, and over 60% of overseas factory procurement localized. NIO reported record-high revenue of CNY65.73 billion for 2024, an 18.2% year-on-year increase. Its CEO Li Bin said the company aims to expand into 25 countries and regions by 2025, with overseas markets expected to become a key growth driver.
“The core advantage of Chinese EV makers lies in product competitiveness – particularly in smart driving and intelligent cockpit technologies,” Automobile Industry Analyst Wu Shuocheng told the Global Times. “The scale of China's auto industry brings significant cost advantages, allowing Chinese brands to remain price-competitive even amid rising tariffs,” he said. Wu added that as software takes on a larger role in the vehicle value chain, future profits will increasingly come from full-lifecycle services rather than just initial sales. Chinese brands continue to grow in overseas markets despite external pressures, driven by ongoing innovation in both technology and software,” Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), told the Global Times.
