Workers are busy at a production line of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in Jinhua, East China's Zhejiang Province on July 2, 2024. The volume of NEV production is rising driven by growing demand. Zhejiang is striving to produce more than 1.2 million NEVs annually, or more than 60 percent of the province's total automobile production, by 2025, and its NEV output will account for about 10 percent of the country's total. Photo: VCG

Chinese automakers, including BYD, Polestar and XPeng, outsold Tesla in Europe in February, data from research firm JATO Dynamics showed on Monday, highlighting the growing competitiveness of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

In February, Chinese-owned car brands registered 19,800 new EVs in Europe, outpacing Tesla which registered just 15,700 units. In the same month last year, the former registered 23,182 units compared with the 28,131 registered by Tesla, JATO Dynamics said.

Best-selling Chinese car brands were Volvo, BYD and Polestar. While Volvo recorded a 30 percent drop in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) registrations, BYD and Polestar made substantial gains, with increases of 94 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Xpeng also performed well with more than 1,000 units, closely followed by Leapmotor with almost 900 units, according to JATO Dynamics.

Felipe Munoz, a global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said Tesla is undergoing major changes, facing growing EV competition and phasing out its top-selling Model Y ahead of a refreshed version, while also dealing with the impact of Elon Musk's political activity.

According to Munoz, brands with fewer models like Tesla are more exposed to sales drops during model changeovers, as registrations typically decline before new versions become widely available.

Despite external pressures, Chinese automakers delivered a solid performance in recent two years, with some brands even posting growth in European sales.

SAIC Motor posted a 26.1 percent sales increase across the EU, the UK and European Free Trade Association countries, even as overall EU new car registrations fell 3 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2025, according to data released Tuesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

On Monday evening, BYD released its 2024 annual report, with revenue reaching 777.1 billion yuan ($107.2 billion) - the first time in its history to surpass the 700 billion mark. The figure also exceeded Tesla's 2024 revenue of $97.69 billion, marking the first time since 2018 that BYD has outpaced Tesla in annual revenue.

Geely Auto released its 2024 financial results on March 20, reporting a revenue of 240.2 billion yuan and a 213 percent surge in net profit to 16.6 billion yuan. The company's globalization strategy showed strong results, with revenue in Eastern Europe up 76.7 percent, rapid expansion in premium markets across the Middle East and Europe, and over 60 percent of overseas factory procurement localized. 

NIO reported record-high revenue of 65.73 billion yuan for 2024, an 18.2 percent year-on-year increase, according to its financial results released on Friday. Its CEO Li Bin said the company aims to expand into 25 countries and regions by 2025, with overseas markets expected to become a key growth driver.

"The core advantage of Chinese EV makers lies in product competitiveness - particularly in smart driving and intelligent cockpit technologies," Wu Shuocheng, a veteran automobile industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"The scale of China's auto industry brings significant cost advantages, allowing Chinese brands to remain price-competitive even amid rising tariffs," he said. Wu added that as software takes on a larger role in the vehicle value chain, future profits will increasingly come from full-lifecycle services rather than just the initial sale.

"Chinese brands continue to grow in overseas markets despite external pressures, driven by ongoing innovation in both technology and software," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"The growth potential remains enormous. Compared with other brands, Chinese EVs are evolving faster, offer better value for money, and are becoming increasingly popular globally," Cui added.