BYD outsold Ford in final quarter to become sixth-largest automaker

BYD could overtake Ford for all of 2024 if sales momentum continues

by Brad Anderson

5 hours ago

It is possible that the Chinese giant will sell 4 million vehicles this year.
BYD was just 10,000 units away from overtaking Stellantis and becoming the world’s fifth-largest automaker.
Sales of China’s other two major automakers also increased in the July-September period.

BYD was the sixth-largest automaker in the third quarter of this year, selling more new vehicles than Ford for the first time in its history. It could even end the year with more than 4 million vehicles sold and overtake Ford for all of 2024.

During the July-September period, BYD sold 1.13 million vehicles, representing an increase of 38% compared to the same period last year and making it the most successful quarter on record by the brand. Ford sold about 40,000 fewer vehicles during the same period, falling from sixth to seventh among automakers. Ford maintained a slight lead for the January-September period, with 3.3 million vehicles delivered worldwide, slightly ahead of the 3.25 billion shipped by BYD.

Read: Leaked email BYD pressures suppliers to cut costs in 2025 EV price war

BYD isn’t the only Chinese company giving traditional automakers something to worry about. Geely’s sales jumped 14% in the third quarter after delivering 820,000 vehicles. This places it ahead of Nissan and behind Honda in ninth position. China’s third-largest automaker, Chery, also rose to 12th place.^th in the ranking, with a 27% increase in sales to 550,000 units.

As Nikkei Asia reports, sales of many brands from Japan, Europe and the United States fell last quarter. For example, Toyota’s sales fell 4% to 2.73 million, although the group still holds a considerable lead over the VW Group which reported a 7% drop in sales to 2.17 million vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group retained its third place, but its sales also fell, down 3%, to 1.77 million units. Things were even worse at Stellantis as its sales fell 20% to 1.14 million.

An increase in sales of brands like BYD also improves their finances. In the third quarter, the automaker recorded revenue of 201 billion yuan, equivalent to $27.6 billion, higher than Tesla’s revenue of $25.2 billion.