Chinese automaker BYD is rapidly seizing the title of the world’s leading name in electric vehicles.
It passed Tesla in global revenues in 2024 — though it sold slightly fewer EVs. Including hybrids, BYD’s volume is about twice that of its American rival.
Shares are up more than 40% since the beginning of 2025. Tesla’s have declined by roughly the same amount in the same period.
But perhaps more importantly, BYD has over the past several years released a slew of new technologies and features that are shifting its reputation from low-cost manufacturer to innovator.
“When Western automakers talk about an existential threat coming out of China, they’re definitely talking about this company called BYD,” said Michael Dunne, a China auto market researcher, and CEO of Dunne Insights. “They have so many components in their arsenal. They have scale. They make their own batteries, some of the best batteries in the world. They’re low cost. They’re innovating. They’re designing better-looking cars all the time. They have cars that are priced from $10,000 to $230,000. I mean, across the board, they check all the boxes. And that’s why people are scared. Terrified of BYD.”
The latest of these is a platform that the company said can charge up to about 250 miles of range in about 5 minutes — only a bit longer than it takes to fill a gas tank.
Part of what makes this potentially so threatening to rivals is BYD’s history of delivering technology at low prices.
The company recently made headlines for offering a robust driver assistance system for free across its range. This is in contrast to Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system, which carries an extra charge.
“Tesla, right now, it’s definitely not for all. BYD is trying to do it for all,” said Lei Xing, a China EV market analyst.
If it pans out, BYD would be able to roll out cars that can charge in half the time of far more expensive vehicles, such as the rapidly charging Lucid Air. That model charges to about 200 miles of range in 12 minutes.
But some EV analysts are skeptical of the new innovation, saying there are some technical hurdles, as well as potentially high costs. In addition, the case for fast charging might not be as strong as it seems.
