While many automakers are struggling in various parts of the world, that certainly isn’t the case with China-based BYD, which has expanded in alarming fashion over the past couple of years. In fact, as Ford Authority reported back in September, BYD was reportedly aiming to sell four million vehicles in 2024, which would come quite close to Ford’s 2023 global sales of 4.4 million units, sixth best among all automakers. Last month, BYD looked to be on the verge of actually outselling Ford this year, and now, that seems even more likely to happen.
According to Reuters, BYD is actually gaining steam as we near the end of 2024, and has now delivered 3.76 million vehicles through the first 11 months of the year after adding 506,804 units to that tally in November alone, which puts it on pace to beat both Ford and Honda. The automaker’s sales grew at a more rapid pace than ever – particularly in China, where the company was aided by government-subsidized vehicle trade-ins. As such, BYD’s market share in China grew from 12.5 percent in 2023 to 17.1 percent this year.
Even more startling is the fact that BYD is on pace to sell around six millions vehicles over the next 12 months, which would make it one of the world’s top-selling automakers, putting it in the company of General Motors and Stellantis. Making this feat even more impressive is the fact that BYD isn’t currently present in too many markets outside of China, save for places like Mexico and Europe. It previously planned to enter Canada, but that country imposed stiff tariffs designed to prevent that from happening, much like the U.S.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has long viewed BYD as a threat, particularly in the EV space, as it continues to undercut its rivals in terms of pricing by a large margin. However, a general slowdown in demand for EVs recently prompted BYD to pivot its focus in Europe to plug-in hybrids, as Ford Authority recently reported.
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