(Bloomberg) — Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. Record sales in the second quarter, extending their lead as the world’s best-selling electric-car maker.
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Elon Musk-led Tesla delivered 466,140 cars worldwide, beating Wall Street estimates. BYD, China’s best-selling car brand, posted its best quarter ever, selling 700,244 fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Shares of Tesla rose more than 6% in premarket US trading, while BYD rose as much as 5% in Hong Kong. EV battery suppliers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd and LG Energy Solutions Ltd also advanced.
Tesla has promised to drive higher volumes, even at the expense of profits, by putting more pressure on legacy carmakers that haven’t kept pace with EVs and are giving up overall market share. Volkswagen AG last week announced new leadership for its Audi brand, which undercut Tesla in the first quarter.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected Tesla to deliver 448,350 cars in the past three months.
“It’s a big beat,” Ben Gallo, Robert W. A Bird analyst said by phone Sunday. “People are still ready for another round of price cuts, and this big supply number makes that less of a risk.”
Austin-based Tesla’s deliveries were the highest ever in a quarter, and were up 83% from a year ago. After production exceeded sales by nearly 18,000 cars in the first quarter, the company produced 13,560 more vehicles than it delivered in the quarter.
“Everybody was worried about building inventory, and it looks like they’ve become normal,” Gallo said. “The delta between production and distribution is shrinking, which is what Tesla said they would do.”
In addition to slashing prices across the lineup this year, Tesla has introduced offers like three months of free fast charging in the U.S. to entice buyers. Some analysts predict that the price cuts will continue into next year.
Read more: Tesla closes another delivery record after price cut
Tesla did not break down its quarterly delivery numbers by individual vehicles or regions. The Model 3 and Y accounted for 96% of sales last quarter. Tesla also makes the Model S and X.
Tesla is by far the leading EV maker in the U.S., but it faces stiff competition around the world from companies with new lineups. It launched a new vehicle – the Model Y – in 2020.
In China – its no. 2 Market – The company lags far behind BYD, which has increasingly global ambitions. Tesla announced last week that it will slash prices of its premium car models in the country by more than 4.5% following its decision to offer cash subsidies to buyers of its Model 3 sedan.
Also Read: Watch Asia EV Shares After Top Ratings on Tesla Deliveries
Tesla will report second-quarter earnings on July 19.
World record
BYD outpaced Tesla in all-electric vehicle sales, nearly doubling second-quarter deliveries to 352,163 units from a year earlier.
The Shenzhen-based company’s total sales jumped 98% from a year ago. BYD’s previous best quarter was the last three months of 2022. The company sold 251,685 new energy vehicles in June.
Small Chinese upstart Li Auto Inc. It recorded a new monthly high of 32,575 deliveries, while Xpeng Inc. and Nio Inc. have seen a moderate increase. Guangzhou Automotive Group Co. ’s EV brand Aion stood out with another strong month of sales with 45,013 deliveries.
June sales “show that new energy vehicle demand is very strong” despite China’s economic drag, said Jonah Chen, autos and EV batteries analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
–With help from Charlotte Yang.
(Updates on Tesla stock will be moved to the third column.)
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