U.S. electric automaker Tesla said Friday that its global vehicle deliveries in 2025 fell by around 8.6 percent year on year, marking the first time the company has been overtaken in annual electric vehicle sales by China's automaker BYD.

Tesla produced 1.655 million electric vehicles in 2025 and delivered 1.636 million, lower than the 1.773 million vehicles produced and 1.789 million delivered in 2024, according to company data.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla produced 434,358 vehicles and delivered 418,227, down from 459,445 produced and 495,570 delivered in the same period a year earlier. Fourth-quarter deliveries fell around 16 percent year on year.

The impact on sales became most pronounced after tax credits that had encouraged U.S. consumers to purchase electric vehicles were eliminated in September 2025.

BYD said Thursday that its global electric vehicle sales reached 2.257 million in 2025, up 27.86 percent from a year earlier, with a growing share of sales coming from markets outside China, including Asia, Europe and Latin America.

"Tesla is running into trouble on the back of a very aging product lineup, Elon Musk's unpopularity, and the fact that they can't really compete with BYD in terms of their very low costs and their very rapid innovation. It isn't just a low cost story from China, it's the fact that battery innovation is fantastic. BYD and other Chinese firms can make a battery for electric vehicles for something like 35 to 40 percent lower cost than their European rivals, so that gives them a massive competitive edge. But also they've got some great products -- good quality products, excellent batteries, and they've really sped up their ability to bring to market new cars," said David Bailey, professor of business economics of Birmingham Business School.

Tesla remains the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States, accounting for about 45 percent of the domestic EV market. However, its declining sales suggest a broader slowdown in the U.S. electric vehicle market.

Data from automotive research firm Cox Automotive showed that U.S. electric vehicle sales across all brands plunged by over 40 percent year on year in November 2025.

Industry analysts expect overall U.S. electric vehicle sales to remain weak in 2026.