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Vehicle sales at China’s BYD soared 58 per cent in the first quarter in a stark contrast to an expected fall in demand for Tesla’s electric cars, as European consumers shun Elon Musk’s brand.
The Shenzhen-based group on Tuesday said it delivered 986,098 passenger vehicles in the first quarter, of which 416,388 were pure EVs, up 39 per cent.
The strong start to the year came after BYD’s latest annual sales figures recently topped $100bn for the first time, propelled by resurgent demand for hybrid vehicles in its home market.
BYD has benefited from strong domestic demand for its hybrid cars, and has also been making aggressive inroads into overseas markets.
By contrast, analysts warned figures set to be released on Wednesday for Tesla’s first-quarter sales were likely to show a drop of more than 10 per cent, as demand in France and other European markets slumped in March despite a key model upgrade.
Tesla sales have plummeted in Europe since the start of the year, but analysts have been divided over whether the decline has mainly been driven by a backlash to chief executive Musk’s interventions in regional politics or an ageing product portfolio and increasing competition.
Even before the release of the March data, analysts have been downgrading their forecasts for Tesla’s first-quarter deliveries, which are usually released on the second day of April.
Deutsche Bank last week downgraded its forecast by about 50,000 to 345,000 vehicles, which would amount to an 11 per cent year-on-year decline. RBC Capital Markets is expecting deliveries of 364,000 units.
“Beyond the numbers, our sense is there is some level of brand damage happening in western Europe and pockets within the US or Canada caused by Elon Musk’s political activities, in turn hurting demand,” Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu wrote in a note.
Tesla vehicles and dealerships have become targets for protest in the US and Europe following Musk’s unprecedented foray into European politics and his outsized influence at the White House.
Tesla is considered the best-positioned carmaker to weather President Donald Trump’s tariff war, with a strong manufacturing footprint in the US. But the company is exposed because it sources some of its vehicle components from other countries.
The carmaker recently warned Trump’s tariffs could make it a target of retaliatory tariffs against the US and increase the cost of making vehicles in America.
Tesla began delivering the upgraded Model Y — its most popular model — in late February in China and from early March in Europe.
Registrations of new car sales in France fell 37 per cent year on year in March to 3,157 vehicles, while those in Sweden fell 64 per cent to 911 units, according to official data released on Tuesday.
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