Investing.com-- BYD’s Hong Kong shares soared to a record high on Friday, extending a recent winning spree after a report said the Chinese electric vehicle giant outsold rival Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc for the first time in Europe.
BYD (SZ:002594) (HK:1211) shares surged to a record high of HK$477.80, before trading mildly lower at HK$473.40. They had hit a record high on Thursday after Citi hiked its target price on BYD and flagged improving export prospects for the EV maker.
Gains in BYD helped the broader Hang Seng index rise 0.6%.
A report from analytics firm JATO Dynamics said BYD registered 7,231 battery-powered vehicles in Europe in April, overtaking the 7,165 units registered by Tesla.
BYD also sells plug-in hybrids, which are its main sales drivers.
But the JATO Dynamics report represents a major milestone for BYD’s EV sales, in that the company has finally overtaken major rival Tesla in a key growth market.
BYD’s strong sales came despite the European Union imposing steep import tariffs on Chinese EVs last year.
But rival Tesla is also struggling with slowing sales across the globe, as it rushes to update an aging line-up. Public ire over the political affiliations of CEO Elon Musk also battered Tesla’s sales, with the company logging its first ever drop in annual deliveries in 2024.
Musk claimed earlier this week that Tesla had already turned around sales, and that demand in regions apart from Europe remained strong.