Today should be a good start to the year for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock. The electric vehicle (EV) leader began the first trading day of 2024 by announcing a new record for fourth-quarter deliveries. However, while that’s definitely a positive development, it’s probably hard to celebrate at Tesla headquarters right now. That’s because chief international rival BYD (OTCMKTS:BYDDY) reported even better sales for the same period.
TSLA stock initially rose today, but for investors, the bigger picture should matter more. And right now, that picture shows CEO Elon Musk’s company falling even further behind its Chinese competitor in the coming year as BYDDY stock continues to climb.
InvestorPlace‘s Louis Navellier recently predicted that Tesla investors were in for a “roller coaster of excitement and drama in 2024.” One day into the year, that prediction is already proving correct. There’s 364 more days left but, so far, the EV landscape appears to be shifting out of Tesla’s favor.
What’s Happening With BYDDY Stock?
Of course, BYDDY stock began the day with a dip, even in the face of its positive news. However, while shares remain in the red, the company is still beginning 2024 in an excellent position. After all, it just finished ahead of Tesla for the second year in a row. That should be exactly what investors want to see.
Just how many EVs did BYD sell during Q4 2023? Well, the firm finished Q4 with an impressive figure of around 526,000 fully electric cars sold. By contrast, Tesla reported just over 484,000 units for the quarter. While that’s still better than the 477,000 units predicted by analysts, it comes in substantially below BYD’s number.
When BYD first outsold Tesla, some dismissed the news as a flash-in-the-pan incident that would not be repeated. Now, though, even the skeptics can’t deny that BYD is likely to continue cutting into Tesla’s share of the lucrative Chinese market. As Financial Times reports:
“Tesla’s dethroning by BYD reflects the rise of what was a little-known Chinese group only a decade ago, which Musk himself has publicly dismissed. While growth at the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese company has been mostly achieved on its home turf, BYD is sharpening its focus on finding new foreign markets including in Europe.”
It’s also important to note that BYD is gearing up to expand its reach across international markets. Indeed, the firm has already made progress in Europe and is clearly just getting started. This should worry both Tesla and smaller Chinese EV producers struggling to keep pace with BYD.
The Road Ahead
BYDDY stock may be in the red alongside TSLA stock today, but its future looks undeniably bright. The firm’s Q4 progress makes its growth prospects impossible to ignore. Indeed, in November 2023, InvestorPlace contributor Will Ashworth predicted that “in the long term, BYD will run circles around America’s biggest car companies.”
That prediction may be coming true sooner than Ashworth even anticipated. With the recent deliveries win, BYD is proving that it can hold its own against Tesla. Plus, the company is making important innovations that could help power BYDDY shares even higher. If these trends continue into 2024, BYD will likely finish among the year’s top breakout sensations.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
