Tesla (TSLA) Stock Climbs 35% in China Sales While BYD Stumbles

TLDR

• Tesla’s China-made EV sales jumped over 35% year-on-year in January–February 2026, reaching 127,728 units
• BYD reported a 36% drop in deliveries over the same period, yet still leads globally
• Tesla’s Shanghai output was more than double that of the next closest rival, Leapmotor
• BYD launched a new Blade battery capable of 10%–97% charge in roughly nine minutes
• Geely’s Xingyuan and Xiaomi’s YU7 each topped China’s monthly sales charts, outselling both Tesla and BYD

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Tesla posted a strong start to 2026 in China, with sales of its Shanghai-made electric vehicles rising more than 35% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2025.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) reported combined January and February deliveries of 127,728 vehicles from Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, up from 93,926 a year earlier. The figures were adjusted to account for the two-week Chinese New Year holiday, which fell in mid-February.

Tesla’s Shanghai plant produces the Model 3 and Model Y for the Chinese domestic market as well as export regions including Europe and Asia-Pacific.

New car registrations for Tesla EVs across Europe also rose broadly in February, Reuters reported last week, with most of those exports coming out of the Shanghai facility.

Tesla’s sales volume for the period was more than double that of Leapmotor, the next closest automaker behind the two industry leaders. That gap underlines that Tesla’s recovery in China isn’t just marginal — it’s pulling away from the pack below it.

BYD Still Leads Despite Sales Drop

Despite the strong numbers, Tesla still trails BYD by a considerable margin in China and globally.

BYD reported a 36% decline in deliveries over the same January–February window. Even with that drop, the Shenzhen-based automaker retained its position as the world’s largest EV seller — a title it claimed from Tesla for the first time on a calendar-year basis in 2025.

BYD’s overseas expansion is a key part of how it maintains that lead. The company’s export shipments exceeded domestic sales for the first time in February, and BYD crossed 1 million overseas units in 2025.

New Technology and Models Reshaping the Market

BYD also unveiled a new version of its Blade battery last week. The company claims it can charge from 10% to 97% in around nine minutes — a development aimed at addressing lingering consumer concerns about range and charging speed.

Other Chinese automakers are also making moves. In February, Geely’s Xingyuan was the best-selling car in China, topping both Tesla and BYD models, according to Autohome data. In January, Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV had knocked Tesla’s Model Y off the top spot.

These results show that competition in China’s EV market isn’t just a two-horse race between Tesla and BYD. Domestic brands are eating into both.

The CPCA noted that March’s finalized data will give a clearer picture of where the market is heading, as production and retail activity typically ramp up sharply once factories return to full operation after the Spring Festival period.

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