What's happening to electric vehicle sales? | DW Business

Tesla reclaimed the top spot in electric vehicle sales - breezing past BYD at the start of 2024. All the while, there's actually little for either carmaker to celebrate: EV sales in general are declining. Industry expert Gregor Sebastian shares his insights on what's shaking up the EV market.

Follow DW on social media:
#tesla #byd #business

[michaelanees]

If we talk numbers and statistics, it would be better to show tables and graphs while talking instead of focusing on someone’s face.

[bordersw]

I rarely buy new, I want a car that can be fixed by a normal garage when it is out of warranty.

[ronaldderooij]

Most people in my country cannot charge at home, as they don't have their own parking space. So, it is doubtful if they can charge publicly if needed, and certainly it is more expensive. So, that is the main reason, I think. The people who can charge at home and want an EV, now already have it.

[rogerzen]

The German car makers are jumping with joy at this news, hence the glee of DW reporting 😂

[letlho]

Byd 1st quater sales will always be lower than all quaters ... as long as year on year sales is up thats fine.

[peaku]

On mainstream media EVs are always dropping, but somehow sales have increased exponentially for the last 14 years, from a niche market to a massive market...

[Welgeldiguniekalias]

You forgot to show the graph where EV sales are declining. And please don't compare Q1 2024 to Q4 2023, this is not America, we do YoY here because we understand how seasons work.

[grahamboddington]

You are deliberately, misrepresenting the data when you say EV sales are dropping. Your own graphs show EV Sales by BYD and Tesla are increasing each quarter. The rate of increase is dropping not the actual sales for these two companies - the sales are continuing to increase for BYD and Tesla. EV sales for legacy auto makers are dropping - why not discuss why one part of the market is receding while the two EV leaders continue to increase their sales. That would be a more honest story.

[Innosos]

I'm surprised that so many are buying at all. Electric cars are still expensive.

[krakken-]

EV sales (except for Tesla) are not declining. The rate of increase in EV adoption is slowing, but still growing 30% YoY. Big difference...

[unconventionalideas]

Electric Vehicle sales' decline is less than the decline of comparably optioned and priced petrol and diesel vehicles. The automobile sector as a whole is slumping enormously right now because cars are expensive and people are less likely to want to drive anyway.

[jogana]

In March 2024, BYD sold 302, 459 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45.6%.

[stefenleung]

but the sales isn't slowing, , esp the oversea(out-of-China, like Mexico, east-asia, etc) market, it's only slowing down on US market. and you don't understand the industries at all if you think BYD is "low" quality.

[harrysmith]

Do you know China domestic car sales is 4.1 million in the Jan-Feb 2024 period? Among them, 1/3 are EVs.

[fredericoduvel]

BYDs sales in the first quarter means nothing.
Due to Chinese New Year, Car sales are always low in the first months.
At the end of the year BYD will have wrecked Tesla and everybody else.

[amsoco]

Please, do not confuse people. The interest for EVs are very high, the problem is that they are very expensive, and with the inflation and high interest rates the capacity for people to buy is lower. Also, the segment of the population who can afford this luxurious prices is reaching his limits.

[jampeldorje]

Declined of German car is making this news

[dbc]

I don't think this shows any particular decline in demand for electric cars. This reflects softness in the Chinese market, the long-term impact of global inflation, and the fact that Tesla is essentially the only game in town in North America and the type of people who would buy an EV find Elon Musk a repugnant human being.

[MM-sfrl]

Sales of electric vehicles were turbocharged in Thailand in 2023, surging by 684 percent compared to the previous year. The April International Auto Show as almost exclusively EV in Bangkok.

[Expedition_Tranquilo]

If we look at Q1/23 vs Q1/24, total sales combined for these two brands are up. The drop in Q4/23 to Q1/24 could well be just a seasonal effect (ie people just buy less cars in the first 3 months of a year vs the last three months of a year). Let’s see what the 2nd quarter 24 looks like before making any major conclusions.