Tesla's first-quarter deliveries were higher than BYD's 264,647 passenger BEVs, but lower than the latter's 552,076 NEVs, including PHEVs.
Tesla saw record electric vehicle (EV) deliveries in the first quarter, as price cuts reinvigorated demand.
The US EV maker delivered 422,875 units worldwide in the first quarter, up 36.39 percent from 310,048 units a year earlier and up 4.34 percent from 405,278 in the fourth quarter, according to its announcement on April 2.
The deliveries exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations of 421,200 units, with Tesla's cheaper Model 3 with Model Y deliveries exceeding expectations.
Tesla delivered 412,180 Model 3 and Model Y units worldwide in the first quarter, above market expectations of 408,500. A total of 10,695 Model S and Model X units were delivered, below expectations of 16,700.
Tesla produced 440,808 vehicles in the first quarter, including 421,371 Model 3 and Model Y, and 19,437 Model S and Model X.
"We continued to transition towards a more even regional mix of vehicle builds, including Model S/X vehicles in transit to EMEA and APAC," Tesla wrote in an announcement.
The company will announce its first-quarter financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 19, and its management will hold a live webcast question-and-answer session at 4:30 pm US Central Time that day.
Tesla cut prices globally earlier this year, and its starting price for the Model 3 sedan came to an all-time low after its move in China on January 6.
In China, Tesla has a factory in Shanghai that makes the Model 3 and Model Y. It's the largest Tesla factory in the world, with an annual capacity of about 1.1 million units a year.
Tesla does not publish its deliveries in China, though the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) publishes those numbers every month.
Tesla's deliveries in China in January and February were 26,843 and 33,923 units, respectively, and its Shanghai plant exported 39,208 and 40,479 units in the two months, according to the CPCA. March figures are expected to be available in the next few days.
BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) and Tesla are the two biggest players in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market, with the former producing plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and the latter producing only BEVs.
Tesla delivered more BEVs than BYD in the first quarter, but the latter's combined sales of PHEVs and BEVs were larger.
In the first quarter, BYD's NEV sales, including PHEVs and BEVs, were 552,076 units, up 92.81 percent year-on-year but down 19.22 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, according to data released yesterday.
BYD's passenger BEVs sold 264,647 units in the first quarter, up 84.78 percent year-on-year but down 19.56 percent from the fourth quarter.
BYD's passenger PHEVs sold 283,270 units in the first quarter, up 100.17 percent year-on-year but down 19.76 percent from the fourth quarter.
