Europe’s April registration data delivered a headline few thought possible even a year ago: BYD logged 7 231 new battery-electric cars, edging Tesla’s 7 165 and claiming the monthly BEV crown for the first time on the continent.
The absolute gap is tiny, but the symbolism is huge—Tesla has led Europe’s BEV charts since 2019, while BYD’s broad roll-out beyond Norway only began in late 2022.
How BYD pulled ahead
- Aggressive pricing and product breadth. The company now offers nine models in Europe, capped by the Dolphin Surf (the export version of the Seagull) at roughly €23,000, thousands below a base VW ID.3 and barely half the price of a Model Y.
- Tariff hedging. BYD mixes BEVs and PHEVs to soften the hit from provisional EU tariffs on Chinese-built BEVs; Chinese PHEV registrations in Europe rose 546 percent year-on-year in April.
- Sheer scale at home. After delivering 4.27 million vehicles in 2024 (up 41 percent year-on-year), BYD can divert export volume quickly when European inventories thin.
Data source: JATO
Tesla’s turbulent 2025
April capped five straight months of market-share erosion:
- Steep country-level drops. Sales fell 81 percent in Sweden and 67 percent in Denmark as overall EV demand kept rising .
- Brand headwinds. Analysts cite an ageing lineup and backlash over Elon Musk’s polarising politics; UK deliveries hit a two-year low in April.
- Profit squeeze. First-quarter automotive revenue slid 20 percent and profits 71 percent as price cuts failed to arrest volume declines.
The refreshed Model Y begins wide EU deliveries this month, but Tesla now confronts rivals that can undercut its list prices by tens of thousands of euros.
The bigger picture – fresh 2025 global number
Latest Rho Motion data show worldwide EV registrations reached 7.2 million in January–May 2025, up 28 percent year-on-year. May alone set a record 1.6 million units.
| Region (Jan–May 2025) | Registrations | Share | Year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 4.4 million | 61 % | +32 % |
| Europe | 1.4 million | 19 % | +34 % |
| North America | 0.7 million | 10 % | +7.5 % |
| Rest of world | 0.7 million | 10 % | +38 % |
China’s monthly tally topped one million for the first time in May, underlining why Chinese manufacturers—BYD chief among them—now have the scale to contest every major market.
What to watch next
- Price war goes continental. BYD’s low-cost strategy that unsettled domestic rivals is spilling into Europe; legacy makers are fast-tracking sub-€25 000 compacts to stem the bleeding.
- Tariff chess. EU provisional import duties (20–38 percent) are due in July. BYD’s planned Hungary plant and rumoured Turkey joint venture could blunt the blow, but localisation takes time.
- Tesla’s counter-move. Beyond incremental Model Y tweaks, the company needs its long-promised compact hatch to stay relevant in Europe’s incentive-driven mass segment.
- Supply-chain ripple. As China ships record volumes abroad, battery-grade lithium prices and container rates are edging up—factors that could nibble at BYD’s cost advantage by year-end.
Take-away for our readers
April’s numbers confirm that cost-competitive Chinese brands can translate domestic dominance into European gains almost overnight. BYD’s thin but historic win over Tesla is less about six dozen cars and more about a new equilibrium: in a fast-growing, price-sensitive EV world, loyalty is fluid, and incumbents—whether Californian start-ups or German stalwarts—must innovate faster than the tariff cycle to keep pace.