In the closing months of 2024, BYD was on track to exceed its target of four million vehicle sales, a number that would put it ahead of Ford and Honda in global sales. And as the numbers have just come in, it appears that 2024 was indeed a record year for BYD as it officially posted sales of 4.27 million units of hybrids and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

According to Investor’s Business Daily, December 2024 was a record month with 514,809 EV sales—the highest monthly figure yet. December was also its third month with sales exceeding 500,000 units. Plug-in hybrid EVs led the way in the fourth quarter with BYD selling a whopping 1,542,270 units (119,323 of those in overseas markets like the Philippines and Latin America).

BYD even beat Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2024 when it came to sales of battery electric vehicles—BYD with 595,413, and Tesla with 495,570.

The brunt of BYD’s global sales came from hybrids, as BEVs accounted for 1.76 million units. In terms of BEV sales, Tesla still leads by a very narrow margin at 1.789 million for 2024, down slightly from 2023 when it sold 1.81 million.

BYD’s strong sales growth is credited to competitive products in a wide pricing spectrum, and subsidies. Chinese EV brands have benefited greatly from the latter, helping to spur the massive growth in EV sales for 2024.