BYD‘s Hong Kong-listed shares reached a new all-time high on Friday at HK$416.98 after industry data showed it outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time in April.
According to data from Jato Dynamics, the Shenzhen-based car and battery giant registered 7,231 fully electric vehicles on the continent, overtaking Tesla, which sold 7,165.
“Tesla has led the European battery electric vehicle market for years, while BYD only officially began operations beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022,” Jato Dynamics’ analyst Felipe Munoz said.
After launching its Atto 2 SUV in February, the company introduced on Wednesday its 10th model in Europe — the Dolphin Surf. The compact EV, named Seagull in China, was the brand’s second-best-selling model in its home market in April.
Production for EU markets will begin later this year at the company’s new plant in Hungary, where it is also establishing its European headquarters.
Until then, BYD will ship from its China factories making them exposed to the European Commission tariffs imposed late last year.
Reuters reported earlier this month that BYD plans for half of its sales to come from international markets by 2030.
On the other hand, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk admitted this week that Europe is the brand’s “weakest market,” despite sales being “strong everywhere else.”
The U.S. company’s sales in the old continent have been declining since the beginning of 2025, with 60% plunges registered in key markets like the U.K. and Germany last month.
BYD, which offers both hybrid and fully electric models, saw its sales surge 384.5% in Germany and 654% in the U.K year over year.
The company plans to expand to 12 additional European markets this year, bringing its total presence on the continent to 29 countries while crossing 1,000 showrooms.
In April, the China giant delivered 380,089 vehicles globally, of which 51.5% were fully electric, outperforming the brand’s hybrids for the first time ever.
The group’s overseas sales reached a new record with over 78,000 vehicles — meaning one out of five cars delivered by the brand last month were exports. Year to date, overseas sales represent 28.5%.
The company set a global goal of 5.5 million vehicle sales for this year, including 800,000 units overseas. With more than 1 million vehicles sold worldwide in the first four months, 25% of the guidance has been completed.
