[imagesource: YouTube / 五号车论]

There’s another worthy contender wrestling with Elon Musk’s EV giant Tesla for the title of the world’s best and largest EV producer.

For the first half of this year, BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle firm partly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has been acknowledged as the world’s largest electric vehicle maker.

The Chinese automaker managed to face the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic better than rival Tesla, which was ultimately plagued by disruptions.

While Tesla sold a total of 564 743 vehicles in the first six months of this year, according to figures in their first and second-quarter reports, BYD sold a cool 641 350 new electric vehicles in the same period.

BYD sales are also growing at a much faster rate compared to its American counterpart. The automaker sold 486 771 more cars than it did in the first half of 2021, representing an increase of 315% in the first six months of 2022.

On the other hand, Tesla sold 178 693 more vehicles in the first half of this year compared to last, a 46% year-on-year bump.

Furthermore, BYD’s stock price has risen nearly 25% since the start of this year, whereas in that same timeframe, Tesla’s stock price has dropped 42%.

Although, Fortune offers a little caveat:

However, the companies’ sales don’t represent an apples-to-apples comparison. Many of BYD’s car sales are plug-in hybrids and use gasoline engines to supplement battery power.

Tesla, on the other hand, exclusively sells fully electric cars. China counts both types of vehicles as “zero-emission.”

Here’s the BYD Han EV:

Image: Electric Vehicle Specs

Next to the Tesla Model 3:

Image: Top Gear

Ultimately, investing $232 million into BYD, which is now worth a mind-bending $7,7 billion, has certainly been lucrative for both Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway.

Tesla, meanwhile, has faced struggles, per Axios:

• Tesla noted in the reports that it had contended with supply chain challenges and factory shutdowns over the course of the year.
• BYD’s shares have risen 36% since January and the company was able to avoid the lockdown-spurred factory closures…
• Tesla, however, was forced to temporarily close its factory in Shanghai during a COVID-19 outbreak in the city earlier this year.

Musk remains very much the world’s richest person, and has promised that Tesla’s Shanghai plant will be coming back “with a vengeance”.

BYD better not get too comfy atop its perch.

[sources:axios&fortune]