BYD increases revenue to 99 billion euros

In 2024, BYD achieved an operating revenue of approximately 777 billion yuan (99.3 billion euros), marking a 29% increase compared to the previous year. Just over 617 billion yuan (78.9 billion euros) came from vehicles and related products. The overall profit rose by 34% to a record 40.3 billion yuan (5.15 billion euros).

As BYD was only a few thousand vehicles behind Tesla in electric vehicle deliveries in 2024 – with Tesla delivering 1.79 million EVs and BYD 1.76 million BEVs – a brief comparison of their financial figures is also relevant: Tesla achieved a company-wide revenue of 90.6 billion euros (97.7 billion dollars), so it was surpassed by BYD in this category. The Chinese automaker also outperformed Tesla in the automotive division revenue, which amounted to 71.5 billion euros (77.1 billion dollars). However, Tesla still holds the higher profit figure, with 6.6 billion euros (7.1 billion dollars) on its balance sheet.

Of course, the two companies are only partially comparable. At Tesla, revenues from the automotive division are solely derived from battery-electric vehicles, while BYD also sells plug-in hybrids and achieved a significantly higher sales volume with 4.25 million vehicles. On the other hand, BYD has a larger commercial vehicle business and also sells components, such as batteries, to third-party customers – including Tesla.

Regarding the overall trend, BYD’s development is clearly on the rise, with profits exceeding analyst expectations. However, not all indicators are positive: Due to rising operating costs, BYD’s gross margin fell by nearly five percentage points in the fourth quarter, dropping to 17%.

With the 2024 sales of 4.25 million vehicles, BYD is already roughly the size of Ford. For the current year, the Chinese company is aiming to reach five to six million deliveries. After two months, BYD has reached 623,000 vehicles, which, if extrapolated, would not yet meet this target. However, the early months of the year are traditionally weaker in China – and despite this, BYD has increased sales by 90% compared to the same period in 2024. If the company meets its self-set sales targets, BYD could even surpass Volkswagen. The German automaker achieved 4.8 million units in 2024.

To achieve this, BYD also plans to continue investing in overseas markets such as Europe, as the company’s growth is currently heavily reliant on the Chinese domestic market – with less than ten per cent of its sales coming from abroad.

reuters.com, bbc.com, hkexnews.hk (374-page PDF business report)