Tesla sales grow slower than BYD as both keep breaking delivery records

Tesla used the US government's new EV tax credit that kicked in earlier this year to start a veritable price war, slashing its electric car prices by up to 30%. This led to record quarterly sales, as it just boasted 466,140 vehicles sold in Q2, 83% higher year-on-year.

While Tesla will stay mum on the effect that the big discounts have had on its heretofore enviable profit margins until its earnings report on July 19, the rising electrification tide has lifted most other EV makers' boats, too.

The world's next biggest EV manufacturer after Tesla - BYD - sold 352,163 purely electric cars in Q2, which represents a whopping 98% jump compared to the same quarter last year. That's quite the faster pace of growth compared to Tesla, and, if it keeps the momentum going, BYD could be hot on its heels for the EV sales crown a few quarters down the road. BYD is already chasing Tesla's profit margins which stood at 17.6% in Q1, not too far off from Tesla's 19.4% gross margin in the same quarter. 

Needless to say, Tesla is yet to announce its first true mass market electric car, the purported US$25,000 Model 2 whose price could be well below the US$20,000 mark with the federal tax credit. While an eventual Model 2 is likely to boost Tesla's quarterly sales number past the million mark, its rival already has low-cost electric vehicles like the BYD Seagull on the market.

With the recent introduction of the BYD Seal refresh it can also match the upcoming Tesla Model 3 Highland redesign in specs and prices in the the world's largest EV market, too. As for Tesla's sales breakdown by model, the overwhelming majority were of the cheaper Model Y and Model 3, while just 4% of its deliveries were of the premium Model S and Model X.

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