Chinese automaker BYD in April sold more battery electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe than Tesla for the first time, according to an automobile market research firm. Experts warn that this is the result of the Chinese regime’s ongoing dumping practices in world markets.
Globally, BYD has surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest EV seller. The Chinese automaker’s rapid expansion has raised concerns.
The European Union has imposed higher tariffs on China-origin EVs—as much as 45.3 percent since 2024—citing significant subsidies by the Chinese Communist Party that distort competition and disadvantage EU automakers. Despite this, overall registrations of China-origin electric cars in April rose by 59 percent year-over-year, reaching almost 15,300 units, according to the JATO Dynamics report.
Hybrid Vehicles
BYD and other China-based automakers have also significantly increased their sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), which have not been targeted by the EU with higher tariffs.In April, BYD’s PHEV sales jumped by 546 percent year on year, from 1,493 units in April 2024 to 9,649 units in April 2025.
“Chinese car brands now account for almost 10 percent of the total number of PHEVs registered in Europe,” JATO Dynamics stated.
Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said, “It remains to be seen whether the EU will respond to the boom in Chinese-made PHEVs by imposing tariffs on these vehicles too.”
The draw in Europe toward BYD and other China-made cars, especially EVs, is based on economic considerations, Wang Shiow-wen, assistant researcher at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times on May 23. She noted that the cars are relatively cheaper.
“I don’t think we can conclude that BYD’s European sales have surpassed Tesla based on just one month’s car registrations, because according to the bar graph of the data in the report, the growth rates of electric vehicle registrations in Europe in April for Porsche, Ford, Skoda, and other brands, and even China’s Xpeng electric vehicle registration growth rate, all exceeded BYD,” Wang said.
“It might be more appropriate to interpret it as Tesla electric vehicle sales in Europe having dropped sharply.”
Analysts have attributed the decline in Tesla sales since 2024 to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in U.S. politics, an aging model lineup, and a halt in production as the company redesigns its popular Model Y.
Some consumers are also waiting for the newer Model Y to come out later in 2025 before purchasing a Tesla.
“Tesla’s reliance on a singular, brand-driven model” and “Elon Musk’s polarizing persona” have put Tesla at a disadvantage in competition with BYD in the European market, U.S.-based economist Davy J. Wong told The Epoch Times on May 23.
“BYD, on the other hand, has aggressively deployed a state-subsidized price-dumping model, sacrificing margins to gain market share,” he said.
Exploiting Gaps in EU Disunity and Policies
Wong said that “BYD’s current success hinges on exploiting internal fractures within the EU.”“Major car-producing nations like France, Germany, and Italy perceive Chinese EVs as a direct threat, while Eastern European countries such as Hungary and Serbia welcome Chinese investment as an economic stimulus,” he said.
However, this is temporary, as such “geopolitical arbitrage may yield short-term gains. But if the EU initiates a bloc-wide anti-subsidy investigation or enforces carbon footprint-based import restrictions, the regulatory environment could turn sharply unfavorable for BYD,” according to Wong.
He noted that “Europe currently represents China’s last major buffer zone for exports.”
“With the U.S. tightening restrictions and global demand stagnating, Europe’s internal divisions and green transition vulnerabilities offer a rare exploitable space,” he said.
However, according to Wong, this strategy of the Chinese regime “is entirely contingent on Europe’s internal disunity.”
“Should the EU’s political mood shift to the right or coalesce around a unified trade defense, the opening could close as swiftly as it appeared,” he said.
However, if the United States imposes high tariffs on both Chinese and European products, “it will prompt China and Europe to deepen trade exchanges,” according to Wang.
“Then China’s influence on Europe’s political economy may be deeper and wider,” she said, noting that Europe, in turn, may then be able to influence China’s politics and economy.
“After all, China needs the European market to make up for the lost market share in the United States.”
BYD’s lead over Tesla in Europe in April is not a final victory, Wong said, “but rather the product of structural asymmetries and misaligned global policy cycles.”
“The sustainability of its advantage will depend on whether BYD can adapt to Europe’s evolving political climate, and whether its globalization strategy possesses the necessary resilience and responsiveness to withstand systemic shifts,” he said.
