Jan 03, Kathmandu - The global market for electric vehicles is set to see a major shift in 2025. Chinese automaker BYD has overtaken Tesla for the first time to become the world's largest electric vehicle seller, as American company Tesla's annual sales decline. According to data released on Friday, Tesla's global deliveries fell by about 8.6 percent compared to the previous year.

According to statistics, Tesla produced about 1.655 million electric vehicles and delivered 1.636 million in 2025. In comparison, in 2024, the company produced 1.773 million vehicles and delivered 1.789 million vehicles.

The company says that Tesla's sales have been significantly negatively impacted, especially since the tax breaks for purchasing electric vehicles in the US were removed from September 2025. In the fourth quarter of the year alone, Tesla's deliveries fell by about 16 percent compared to the same period last year, to 418,000.

On the other hand, Chinese company BYD has made impressive progress, selling more than 2.257 million fully electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2025. This number is an increase of about 28 percent from the previous year. BYD is rapidly expanding its reach not only in China’s domestic market but also in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

While Tesla is still the top company in the US with a 45 percent market share, the overall US EV market is showing signs of slowdown. According to Cox Automotive, overall US EV sales fell by 40 percent in November 2025, and analysts expect the sector to remain challenged in 2026.