Sri Lanka, Jan. 2 -- China's BYD is set to overtake Elon Musk's Tesla as the world's biggest seller of electric vehicles (EVs), marking the first time it has outpaced its American rival for annual sales.

On Thursday, BYD said that sales of its battery-powered cars rose last year by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million.

Tesla, which is due to reveal its total sales for 2025 later on Friday, last week published analyst's estimates suggesting that it had sold around 1.65 million vehicles for the year as a whole.

The US firm has faced a tough year with a mixed reception to new offerings, unease over Musk's political activities and intensifying competition from Chinese rivals.

In October, Tesla introduced lower-priced versions of its two b...