Real-time strategy helps Tesla surpass BYD in China sales efficiency

Tesla'saggressive, real-time management of sales staff in China is giving its stores a competitive advantage over dealerships selling BYD and other brands in the largest auto market in the world.

China's BYD overtook the American corporation in the fourth quarter as the world's largest seller of electric vehicles, but both businesses increased their market share in the first ten months of 2023 in an increasingly competitive and slowing Chinese EV market.

According to data from China Merchants Bank International (CMBI), Tesla increased the average number of electric vehicles sold in each of its Chinese stores from 1,300 in 2022 to more than 1,500 in the first ten months of 2023.

Considering that its best-selling models cost half as much as Tesla's and that it has 11 times more local distributors, BYD sold less than 600 cars per store in the same 2023 period, including plug-in hybrids, which is comparable to its 2022 performance. Nevertheless, overall, BYD sold far more EVs than Tesla.

Tesla may have higher throughputs per store, but its growth is constrained, particularly when compared to BYD, according to Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based advisory firm Automobility.

Based on data from Automobility and the China Passenger Car Association, Tesla's share of the China EV market increased to 12% in the first ten months of 2023 from 10% in 2022, while BYD's share increased to 27% from 21% during the same period as its lower-end competitors faltered.

A rare bright light for the electric vehicle manufacturer, which has halted plans to build a factory in Mexico and issued warnings about the effects of rising loan rates on consumers in other important areas like the U.S., is its strong sales performance in China, its second-biggest market.