The rivalry between Tesla and BYD will continue in 2024 and titles of the biggest producer and the sales king are up for grabs.
BYD sold more battery electric vehicles (BEV) than Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023. Supply chain sources said the market is optimistic about BYD's 2024 sales performance as the automaker has a comprehensive product portfolio and moves fast with vehicle iterations.
BYD boasts cost advantages with its large production volume. However, for Tesla's CEO Elon Musk, the two companies are two very different beasts.
When asked about Tesla falling behind BYD in quarterly sales, Musk said that the two companies are incomparable. He said Tesla develops AI and robotics for vehicles, which implied that BYD cars have limited intelligence.
Sources indicated that BYD is lagging behind emerging EV companies like Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto in smart car technologies. Huawei's efforts to scale car intelligence with new partnerships.
The company announced that it plans to invest CNY100 billion (US$13.9 billion) in smart car features, integrating software and hardware. BYD did not provide a timeline for the investment and other details.
The move is expected to narrow the gap in driver assistance technology between BYD and other Chinese competitors. This is BYD's response to China's government's call to enable advanced self-driving cars.
China has seen rapid development in advanced autonomous driving software. With its leading position in the EV sector, BYD will likely scale its smart car technology quickly.
Tesla seems to have arrived at a crossroads with its intelligent car technology. It is not moving from level 2 to level 3 vehicle autonomy, as one may think.
Musk recently said he would rather build AI products outside of Tesla if he cannot hold 25% voting control. The Tesla CEO currently holds only 12% of the company because he had to sell some stake to purchase X, formerly known as Twitter.
Tesla's next moves in smart car technology are unknown. The possibility remains that Musk could develop a separate AI venture to compete with Tesla.
