The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has zipped past Tesla to reach first place in a competitive ranking of 18 global EV manufacturers, according to the technology analyst firm ABI Research.
In addition to those two “market leaders,” the analysis also included the “mainstream” companies GAC Aion, General Motors, Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis, Volkswagen, XPENG, and ZEEKR. And it included the “followers” BMW, Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, NIO, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, and Volvo.
All 18 of those original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) were scored by nine criteria spanning categories like battery technology, platform design, coverage of different vehicle segments, and electrified share of sales.
According to ABI, the results showed that Tesla scored highly in vehicle range, platform innovation, and fast charging capabilities. But BYD significantly outperformed Tesla with its degree of vertical integration and the number of models that it offers in different segments.
“The automotive industry is in a state of transition, and this assessment demonstrates the varying capabilities of OEMs as they try to make it through this period and come out on top,” Dylan Khoo, Industry Analyst at ABI Research, said in a release.
“In some areas the new upstart EV brands are a generation ahead of many ‘legacy OEMs’. The incumbents must look to technology solutions providers to revolutionize their capabilities and ensure they can maintain their position as the industry electrifies,” Khoo said.
BYD’s only U.S. model is the “Han” sedan, but it also includes a range of battery-electric commercial vehicles such as taxis, transit buses, box trucks, sanitation trucks, and forklifts. That catalog is the basis for the company’s “7+4 Full Market EV Strategy” for new energy vehicles, that encompasses 7 traditional transportation fields (passenger vehicles, buses, taxis, coaches, logistics vehicles, construction vehicles and sanitation vehicles) and 4 specialized transportation fields (warehouse, mining, airport and port).
Founded in 1995 as a rechargeable battery maker, BYD now has a business scope covering automobiles, rail transit, new energy, and electronics, with over 30 industrial parks in China, the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Hungary, and India.
