Australia backs Tesla: While BYD is dominating sales in Europe the Model Y still leads the way here
BYD delivered Tesla another devastating blow in Europe last month, recording 17,470 sales in October,.
By contrast, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y sales dropped to just 6964 units, a significant fall of 48.5 per cent.
BYD’s emerging sales pace is the latest instalmnet in a multi-continent battle for sales supremacy between the two electric giants.
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In total BYD, along with brands like Geely and the SAIC-owned MG, accounted for around 75,000 vehicles in October in a market that includes members of the European Union as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland.
In the first 10 months of 2025 BYD sold a total of 138,390 PHEVs and BEVs in Europe, an increase of 285 per cent over the same period last year.
If that sounds impressive, from January to October Tesla shifted a more considerable 180,688 Model 3 and Model Y EVs.
However, bosses of the US brand won’t be celebrating as that figure represents a decline of 29.6 per cent over this time last year.
So far this year battery-electric vehicles have made up 16.4 per cent share of the total number of cars sold within the region, which equates to an impressive 1,473,447 EVs registered up until October.
Hybrids, meanwhile, have accounted for 3,109,362 sales between January and October 2025, equivalent to a 34.6 per cent slice of total vehicles sold.
The once-dominant diesel has shrunk to 9.2 per cent of total volume, with petrol-powered cars at 27.4 per cent.
That’s a drop from the 34 per cent of all sales in 2024.
Back in Australia, Tesla also had a forgettable month with October volumes down to just 916 cars (-37.4 per cent).
Despite that, the firm’s Tesla Model Y remains a firm favourite among buyers in 2025 with 17,972 finding homes so far this year, comprehensively outselling rivals, like the BYD Sealion 7 (9824).
Of the 111 all-electric cars now on sale in the increasingly crowded Australian marketplace, the Tesla Model 3 also remains the nation’s third favourite, despite its sedan body shape, with 5597 finding homes here.
Australia’s best-selling hybrid remains the Toyota RAV4 (39,441) with the legacy Japanese brand also occupying the second spot (Toyota Corolla) and the third podium place with its more recent Corolla Cross.
When it comes to plug-in hybrids, the legacy brands are given a bashing by BYD. The Shark 6 ute (15,181) and Sealion 6 SUV (7453) occupy the top and second spot ahead of the previously dominant Mitsubishi Outlander (3705) which has slipped to a distant third place.
