BYD Overtakes Tesla in Europe as EV Battle Heats Up

Car sales in Europe kept moving higher in August, up 5.3% from a year ago to just under 678,000 vehicles. Spain, Germany and France helped lift the numbers, though Italy went the other way with a small decline.

The bigger story was in the electric segment. BYD (BYDDF, Financials) outsold Tesla (TSLA, Financials) for the second month in a row. BYD's sales jumped more than 200% from last year, giving it 1.3% of the market. Tesla slipped, with sales down 37% and its share easing to 1.2%.

Volkswagen (VWAGY, Financials) held onto its lead by a wide margin. The group grew sales by 6% and controlled about 28% of the market in August.

Electric models overall had a strong month. Battery EV registrations rose 30%, helped by a surge in Spain and steady gains in Germany and France. There have been 1.13 million BEV sales in the EU this year, which is about 16% of the total market. Most of the sales were in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Volkswagen is still in first place this year, followed by Stellantis and Renault. Next are Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, and Mercedes.. Tesla sits at 1.2% share, just behind BYD at 0.9%.

The next few months will show whether BYD can hold its lead and if Tesla can reverse its decline as Europe heads into year-end.