Al Root

BYD stock fell in overseas trading after another strong month of electric-vehicle deliveries.

It's a case of sell the news.

Tuesday morning, BYD reported deliveries of 371,419 passenger vehicles in March, including 166,109 all-electric cars. (BYD also sells plug-in hybrid vehicles.)

Total passenger vehicle sales rose 23% year over year. Battery electric vehicle sales grew 19%.

BYD's total vehicle sales topped the 1 million mark for the third consecutive quarter. BEV sales were 416,388 vehicles in the first quarter, up 39% year over year.

That will be enough to top Tesla yet again. Elon Musk's car company is expected to deliver about 378,000 EVs in the first quarter, down about 2% year over year. It will be the third quarter overall and the second consecutive in which BYD has topped Tesla's EV sales.

BYD also leads in timing. Tesla will report its delivery results a day later on April 2.

BYD shares fell 1.7% in overseas trading even though deliveries weren't a disappointment.

The stock market is forward-looking. Oftentimes, results are already reflected in stock prices when they are released. BYD shares are up 45% so far this year.

Coming into Tuesday trading, Tesla stock was down 36% this year, and falling delivery estimates are a big reason. At the start of the year, Wall Street expected Tesla to deliver about 470,000 vehicles. That would have been enough to top BYD.

Weak early-year sales data in the U.S. and Europe stoked fears that Elon Musk's political activities were turning off some core Tesla buyers -- politically left-leaning people looking to go green. Tesla also updated its biggest seller, the Model Y. Model changeovers can create sales air pockets while buyers wait for newer models with better features.

Tesla stock was up 1.4% in premarket trading Tuesday, ahead of its delivery news, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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April 01, 2025 08:35 ET (12:35 GMT)

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