United Kingdom, Jan. 5 -- Chinese manufacturer BYD has overtaken Elon Musk's Tesla as the biggest global seller of electric vehicles.

Tesla sales fell by nearly nine per cent in 2025 to 1.64 million vehicles sold worldwide - its second consecutive year of declining car deliveries.

The figure placed Tesla behind BYD for the first time, which confirmed that sales of its battery-powered cars increased last year by nearly 28 per cent to over 2.25 million.

Tesla endured a challenging year in 2025 with a mixed response to new cars and unease about Musk's political activities.

The company's sales fell by 16 per cent in the final three months of 2025, which was partly caused due to a repeal of a US government subsidy that reduced the price of...