Chinese electric car giant BYD’s quarterly revenue surged, surpassing Tesla’s for the first time.
The company’s revenue exceeded 200 billion yuan ($28.2 billion, £21.8 billion) between July and September. That was a 24% increase from the same period last year and topped Elon Musk’s company’s quarterly revenue of $25.2 billion.
However, Tesla’s electric vehicle (EV) sales in the third quarter were still higher than BYD’s.
Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales in China have been driven by government subsidies that encourage consumers to switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric or hybrid vehicles.
BYD also set a monthly sales record in the final month of the quarter, a sign that momentum continues to build for China’s best-selling automaker.
But there is growing backlash abroad over the Chinese government’s support for domestic automakers such as BYD.
Earlier this week, the EU imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Chinese electric car makers already face 100% taxation in the United States and Canada.
The tariffs are in response to alleged unfair state subsidies in China’s auto industry.
As of last week, official data showed that 1.57 million applications had been received for the state subsidy, which would give each old car a subsidy of $2,800.
This is in addition to other incentives already in place by the government.
China has been relying on high-tech products to help revive its sluggish economy, and the European Union is the largest overseas market for its electric vehicle industry.
China’s domestic auto industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades and brands such as BYD have begun to expand into international markets, prompting concerns in countries such as the European Union that their companies will not be able to compete with cheaper prices.
