Tesla delivered a record number of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, beating market estimates and meeting its 2023 target, but lost its spot as the top EV maker to China's BYD.
Tesla delivered 494,989 EVs in the October-to-December period, falling short of the 526,409 vehicles that Warren Buffett-backed BYD handed over — mostly in China — suggesting car buyers were looking for cheaper models in a high-interest-rate economy.
While the US automaker's year-end sales push mostly paid off, helping it deliver 1.8 million vehicles this year, it fell short of CEO Elon Musk's ambitious 2 million annual internal target.
However, it is still ahead of BYD for the whole year. The Chinese firm delivered a total of 3.02 million vehicles, including about 1.4 million plug-in hybrid EVs.
Tesla stock, which doubled last year, was nearly flat on Tuesday in a broadly weaker market.
BYD's deliveries show price cuts are working for the Chinese company, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The fight will hurt margins for both companies, but BYD clearly believes it's a price worth paying to increase market share and recognition,” she added.
Tesla increased discounts and offered incentives like six months of free fast charging if customers took deliveries by December-end, in a bid to boost sales before some variants of its compact Model 3 sedan lose US federal tax credits in 2024.
That helped it post a growth of 11% over the immediately previous quarter and higher than estimates of 473,253, according to 14 analysts polled by LSEG.
It made a record 494,989 vehicles in the quarter after a production halt in the third quarter to upgrade assembly lines, taking total production in 2023 to 1.85 million units.
Tesla's delivery numbers are “much, much, much better than domestic US car companies”, said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Tesla shareholder Hodges Capital.
Smaller rival Rivian also reported deliveries on Tuesday, with the company missing market estimates amid a broader pullback in EV demand.
The weakness has led US automakers including Ford General Motors to become more cautious about their EV production capacity plans.
Tesla is also facing scrutiny from regulators over its self-driving technology with the company recalling more than 2 million vehicles last month to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system, after a federal safety regulator cited safety concerns
Model 3 cars and Model Y sports utility vehicles accounted for 461,538 deliveries in the quarter, while Tesla handed over about 23,000 units of its other models.
Tesla did not disclose if the deliveries included the newly launched Cybertruck.
Tesla posts record sales but loses top EV spot to China's BYD
Image: Reuters
Tesla delivered a record number of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, beating market estimates and meeting its 2023 target, but lost its spot as the top EV maker to China's BYD.
Tesla delivered 494,989 EVs in the October-to-December period, falling short of the 526,409 vehicles that Warren Buffett-backed BYD handed over — mostly in China — suggesting car buyers were looking for cheaper models in a high-interest-rate economy.
While the US automaker's year-end sales push mostly paid off, helping it deliver 1.8 million vehicles this year, it fell short of CEO Elon Musk's ambitious 2 million annual internal target.
However, it is still ahead of BYD for the whole year. The Chinese firm delivered a total of 3.02 million vehicles, including about 1.4 million plug-in hybrid EVs.
Tesla stock, which doubled last year, was nearly flat on Tuesday in a broadly weaker market.
BYD's deliveries show price cuts are working for the Chinese company, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The fight will hurt margins for both companies, but BYD clearly believes it's a price worth paying to increase market share and recognition,” she added.
Tesla increased discounts and offered incentives like six months of free fast charging if customers took deliveries by December-end, in a bid to boost sales before some variants of its compact Model 3 sedan lose US federal tax credits in 2024.
That helped it post a growth of 11% over the immediately previous quarter and higher than estimates of 473,253, according to 14 analysts polled by LSEG.
It made a record 494,989 vehicles in the quarter after a production halt in the third quarter to upgrade assembly lines, taking total production in 2023 to 1.85 million units.
Tesla's delivery numbers are “much, much, much better than domestic US car companies”, said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Tesla shareholder Hodges Capital.
Smaller rival Rivian also reported deliveries on Tuesday, with the company missing market estimates amid a broader pullback in EV demand.
The weakness has led US automakers including Ford General Motors to become more cautious about their EV production capacity plans.
Tesla is also facing scrutiny from regulators over its self-driving technology with the company recalling more than 2 million vehicles last month to install new safeguards in its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system, after a federal safety regulator cited safety concerns
Model 3 cars and Model Y sports utility vehicles accounted for 461,538 deliveries in the quarter, while Tesla handed over about 23,000 units of its other models.
Tesla did not disclose if the deliveries included the newly launched Cybertruck.
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