Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has seen its quarterly revenues soar, surpassing Tesla for the first time.
The company posted revenues of more than 200 billion yuan ($28.2 billion, £21.8 billion) between July and September. This is a 24% jump on the same period last year, and more than Elon Musk’s company, which posted quarterly revenues of $25.2 billion.
However, Tesla still sold more electric vehicles (EVs) than BYD in the third quarter.
This comes as EV sales in China have been boosted by government subsidies to encourage consumers to swap their petrol cars for EVs or hybrids.
BYD also posted a monthly sales record in the final month of the quarter, a sign that momentum continues to build for China’s best-selling automaker.
But there’s a growing backlash abroad against the Chinese government’s support for domestic automakers like BYD.
Earlier this week, the European Union imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles across the bloc.
Chinese electric vehicle makers were already facing a 100% tax from the United States and Canada.
The tariffs are a response to alleged unfair state subsidies for the Chinese auto industry.
As of last week, official data showed that 1.57 million applications had been filed for a national subsidy of $2,800 per older vehicle traded in for a greener one.
That’s on top of other government incentives that were already in place.
China is counting on high-tech products to revive its ailing economy, and the EU is the largest overseas market for the country’s electric car industry.
The domestic auto industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades and brands such as BYD have begun to enter international markets, leading to fears among EU countries that their own companies will not be able to compete with cheaper prices.