BYD raced past its annual delivery target ahead of schedule, throwing down the gauntlet for Tesla

• BYD just smashed its annual delivery target a month ahead of schedule.
• The automaker has thrown down a gauntlet for Tesla, which faces a battle to beat 2023's record sales.
• Tesla and its Chinese rival are locked in a battle to become the world's largest EV company.

BYD and Tesla are locked in a fierce battle to become the world's biggest EV company — and the Chinese automaker has just landed a major blow.

BYD has surpassed its annual sales target a month ahead of schedule, throwing down a gauntlet for Tesla as Elon Musk's company scrambles to meet its own annual goal.

The Chinese EV giant delivered 504,000 passenger vehicles in November, according to figures released on Sunday.

BYD has now sold over 3.7 million cars this year, meaning it has smashed its annual target of 3.6 million sales with a month to go.

Its sales have taken off in recent months, with the automaker selling half a million cars in October and November.

The company has benefited from the booming popularity of its hybrid vehicles.

Sales of plug-in hybrids have risen nearly 70% this year from 2023, with BYD releasing new technology over the summer that it says allows its latest hybrids to go up to 1,250 miles without stopping for gas or charging.

BYD's success has heaped the pressure on Tesla, which has been fighting the Chinese company for the title of the world's largest EV producer.

CEO Elon Musk has said he expects Tesla to sell more than the record 1.8 million vehicles it sold last year in 2024.

However, the US carmaker will need a record quarter in Q4 to do that. Tesla has sold 1.29 million cars so far this year.

Tesla is fighting hard to meet that lofty goal, offering a string of end-of-year deals, including free Supercharging and Full Self-Driving trials to US customers.

Tesla's sales in China have struggled in recent months, however. The company is facing brutal competition not just from BYD but also from EV startups such as Zeekr and Nio, which both registered record deliveries in Q3.

While Tesla, which doesn't sell hybrids, has no chance of matching BYD's total vehicle sales, the race to sell the most EVs is still on. BYD has sold 1.56 million battery-electric vehicles this year so far.