When Tesla and BYD sales numbers are released at the end of each quarter, investor focus has inevitably been on which maker has topped the list for deliveries of electric vehicles to customers.
It is a tight, fluctuating race. In the latest quarter to the end of June, Tesla retained the bragging rights of first position even though deliveries declined 5 per cent. The Elon Musk-controlled group delivered 443,956 vehicles compared with 426,039 battery-powered EVs from its Chinese rival.
But comparing Tesla and BYD based on sales volume is a metric that matters much less now than it used to in determining the outlook for the companies’ stock prices.