BYD (BYDDF) and Tesla (TSLA) may be squaring off as fierce rivals in the world of electric vehicles, but the Chinese auto giant says it wants to work alongside its U.S. counterpart to defeat the internal combustion engine (ICE). Stella Li, executive vice president of China’s leading electric vehicle maker, told the Financial Times that BYD would “work together” with Tesla to beat old-fashioned gas-guzzling cars and trucks.
“Our common enemy is the internal combustion engine car. We need to work together… to make the industry change,” she told the newspaper while at a BYD showroom in London. Li is CEO of BYD Americas and was named 2025 World Car Person of the Year by a group of the world’s leading automotive journalists for her successful tenure at the company.
EV Demand Questioned
Her comments come as a slowdown in demand for EVs affects the industry and has even nudged the European Union (EU) to water down pollution targets to allow carmakers to “breathing space.”
European carmakers are to be given two extra years to meet the 2025 pollution target, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. She said pushing back the fleet emissions target to 2027 would grant the industry more “breathing space.”
Carmakers had pushed for a delay since the market for EVs was not picking up quickly enough to avoid hefty fines. The EU had drastically lowered its cap on automotive carbon dioxide emissions this year, meaning a fifth of all sales by the majority of car companies would need to be EVs in order to avoid heavy fines.
While hybrid vehicles are becoming the dominant choice among European consumers, growth in the sale of pure electric vehicles has stalled a bit.
In January, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) made up 15% of the market share, up from 10.9% in January 2024, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reported. Hybrid-electric vehicles surged ahead, commanding nearly 35% market share. The combined market share of petrol and diesel cars fell to 39.4% in January 2025, down from 48.7% one year ago.
BYD and Tesla Competing Hard in China
Meanwhile, the competition between BYD and Tesla continues to show the Chinese automaker stretching out a lead. Tesla’s China-made EV sales plummeted 49% year-over-year in February while BYD posted sales up 164 from a year before.
Li’s remarks came as BYD launched a $5.6 billion share placing to raise funds for more research and development as it seeks to widen its lead over Tesla in areas like intelligent driving technology.
Last month BYD unveiled smart driving functions delivered free across a number of mass market models, which indicated it had widened its lead over TSLA in the field of intelligent driving. Tesla CEO Elon Musk meanwhile blamed regulatory hurdles for its failure to launch its latest driver-assistance software in China. Both companies have been engaged in a price war to win market share in China.
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