(New York) The American car manufacturer Tesla announced on Tuesday that it had delivered 484,507 electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, which places it, for the first time, in second position behind the Chinese group BYD.
The latter has in fact delivered 526,409 vehicles between October and December 2023, according to calculations carried out by AFP with data published in press releases from the Chinese group.
On the other hand, over the whole year, the American group retained its leading position with 1.81 million vehicles delivered worldwide, an increase of 38% over one year, when BYD handed over to their owners 1.57 million vehicles (+73%).
Tesla warned on October 2 that its production and delivery volumes had been affected in the third quarter by planned maintenance operations.
When presenting its results for the third quarter on October 18, it indicated that it wanted to increase its production “as quickly as possible”, warning that “some years it is possible that we grow faster and others less quickly” .
Between October and December, Tesla produced 494,989 vehicles, bringing the full year total to 1,845,985 vehicles (+35%).
It had set itself the objective of producing 1.8 million vehicles in 2023, which it confirmed again in mid-October despite its difficulties in the third quarter.
For its part, BYD produced 518,974 vehicles in the fourth quarter, according to AFP calculations. The manufacturer announced in a press release that it had produced 1.59 million electric vehicles over the whole year (+73.32%).
The group based in Shenzhen (south), which counts Warren Buffett among its shareholders, crossed the symbolic threshold of five million electric vehicles produced in October.
Around 10:20 a.m. (Eastern time), Tesla shares fell slightly (-0.09%) on the New York Stock Exchange.