Chinese car maker BYD saw sales jump at the end of last year, leaving it closer to claiming the title of the world's best-selling electric vehicle (EV) maker of 2024. The company says it sold 207,734 EVs in December, taking its annual total to 1.76 million, as subsidies and discounts helped attract customers.

The EV giant sold 1.76 million electric cars in 2024, per figures released on Wednesday, putting it within touching distance of beating Tesla.

Tesla's increase in global sales in the fourth quarter was not enough to overcome a sluggish first half of the year.

Tesla reported the first full-year drop in sales in its history as a public company Thursday, as increased competition and slowing demand for electric vehicles hit its results.

In the final quarter of 2024, Tesla built 436,718 Models 3 and Y and delivered 471,930, clearing out a stash of inventory in the process. It built an additional 22,727 electric vehicles—the elderly Models S and X and the divisive Cybertruck—and sold 23,