(Alliance News) - BYD, the Chinese electric car giant, is achieving extraordinary successes and could overtake Ford in the global ranking of automakers by the end of the year, as Il Sole 24 Ore writes Tuesday.
In 2024, BYD sold 3.25 million vehicles, up 36.5 percent from the previous year, while Ford recorded sales of 3.3 million.
As the newspaper continues, this overtaking could bring BYD to eighth place in the global top 10.
Much of the outcome will depend on the fourth quarter, with BYD already having broken its monthly sales record in October, reaching 534,000 vehicles.
The Chinese automaker also surpassed Tesla in terms of revenues, but lags behind in profits.
On the market capitalization front, Tesla still dominates with over USD1 trillion, while BYD ranks third with a valuation of USD114 billion, preceded only by Toyota.
The Chinese group owes its strength to its production capacity and the wide range of models it offers, including electric vehicles, hybrids, citycars, SUVs, and hypercars, all of which are competitively priced, the Sun further reports.
In 2024, it hired 200,000 new employees, bringing the total to 900,000.
Founded in 1995, today BYD is also a leading manufacturer of renewable energy systems, public vehicles and electronics.
Although BYD still does not sell vehicles in the U.S. due to tariffs imposed by the Biden government, it is gaining ground in Europe and emerging markets, where it sold 35,000 vehicles in 2024. To cope with European duties, it has stepped up production in Hungary and Turkey.
Meanwhile, traditional automakers, such as Volkswagen, Stellantis, and Mercedes-Benz, are facing difficulties in transitioning to electric due to technology problems, high prices, and low Western consumer acceptance.
By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter
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