BYD produced more than 3 million cars in 2023, set to beat Tesla

BEIJING — BYD said Monday it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles in 2023, putting the Chinese electric car giant on track to surpass Tesla‘s production for a second straight year.

The U.S. electric car company had yet to release full-year figures as of Tuesday in Asia. Tesla said it produced 1.35 million cars during the first three quarters of 2023.

In 2022, Tesla produced 1.37 million vehicles, fewer than BYD’s 1.88 million. New energy vehicles include battery-powered and hybrid models.

Most of BYD’s cars sell in a lower price range than Tesla’s, and come in hybrid versions. Elon Musk’s automaker only sells purely battery-powered cars. China accounted for about one-fifth of Tesla’s sales in the quarter ended Sept. 30.

BYD shares fell by more than 2% in Hong Kong trading Tuesday morning.

Companies wanting a slice of China’s fast-growing electric car market have flooded the market with new models. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi last week detailed its plans to launch an EV to compete with Porsche and Tesla.

Li Auto, whose monthly deliveries have surged to record highs, is set to launch its first purely battery-powered vehicle, MEGA, on March 1 and begin deliveries later that month, according to an announcement Sunday. That’s slightly later than initial projections for late February deliveries.

The startup has so far seen success with cars that come with a fuel tank to charge the battery and extend driving range. Li Auto said it delivered more than 50,000 cars in December for a total of 376,030 cars in 2023, a 182% year-on-year increase.

Xpeng on Monday launched its X9 MPV, with deliveries starting immediately.

The Chinese EV maker said its overall deliveries of electric cars rose 17% year-on-year to 141,601 cars in 2023, with a record 20,115…