BYD and its rivals face growing pressure in the coming year as China scales back some incentives supporting EV purchases. An influx of new models is also making domestic competition even fiercer, while trade barriers pose challenges for BYDโs ambitions to expand overseas.
BYD has faced stiffer competition in the past year from Geely Automobile Holdings and Xiaomi, whose new models and rapid innovations are winning over consumers.
BYDโs chief executive officer Wang Chuanfu said at an investor meeting in early December that the technological head start the company maintained over the past few years had diminished and affected domestic sales.
He hinted at new technology breakthroughs to come, with the companyโs 120,000-strong engineering team giving him confidence about its ability to regain advantages, Chinese media reported.
A bright spot for BYD has been surging overseas sales. Deliveries outside China hit 1.05 million in 2025.
Topsy-Turvy
Even by the standards of Musk and Tesla โ two names synonymous with turbulence โ 2025 was a tumultuous year.
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The car makerโs vehicle sales got off to a dismal start, partly due to the company retooling production lines at each of its car plants for the redesigned Model Y, its most popular vehicle. Another major factor was the intense backlash against Muskโs work for US President Donald Trump.
By early April, when Musk was publicly feuding with members of the administration over tariff policy, Teslaโs stock had plummeted 45 per cent for the year.
Musk spurred the recovery by stepping back from government and returning to work on a long-time goal: starting a ride-hailing business with cars heโs said will eventually be autonomous.
In June, Tesla launched an invite-only Robotaxi service in Austin, with safety operators on board to supervise each of the Model Ys ferrying Musk fans around the Texas capital. While the vehicles violated traffic laws on day one โ drawing the attention of a federal regulator that has opened multiple investigations into the companyโs driving systems โ investors have shrugged off the safety concerns.
When Musk was publicly feuding with members of the administration over tariff policy, Teslaโs stock had plummeted 45 per cent for the year.Credit: AP
Teslaโs board then proposed a new compensation package for Musk in September, offering a payout potentially worth $1 trillion depending on milestones including delivering millions of robotaxis. Soon after, the comeback was complete โ Tesla shares were trading higher for the year.
When the stock closed at a new all-time high on December 16, the company had added more than $915 billion in market capitalisation in just over eight months.
Driver assist
But while Teslaโs robotaxi prospects have captivated investors, car buyers have been relatively circumspect.
Teslaโs attempt to distinguish itself in Chinaโs crowded electric vehicle market with driver-assistance functions is also not working out as companies including BYD and Xiaomi offer similar systems as standard features.
Due largely to BYDโs far higher sales in China and surge of momentum in Europe โ where Tesla has been unable to obtain regulatory approval for its full self-driving (supervised) system โ analysts expect the Shenzhen-based car maker to have sold more battery-electric vehicles worldwide for a fifth quarter in a row.
Bloomberg
