BYD, derided by Elon Musk, gives Tesla a run for its money: This week in EVs

Investing.com -- Here is your weekly Pro Recap of the past week's biggest headlines in the electric vehicle space: BYD is closing in on Tesla; Polestar shows impressive growth; and VinFast suffers big drops.

As always, InvestingPro users got these headlines at lightning speed. Never miss another opportunity to secure an edge for your portfolio.

BYD challenges Tesla for EV leader

The race for EV supremacy is heating up, and Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD (SZ:002594) appears to be closing in on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA): In a startling twist of events, BYD is poised to challenge Tesla for the top spot in battery EV (BEV) sales after Tesla's Q3 delivery figures fell short of expectations.

Tesla, in its most recent quarterly reports, revealed underwhelming delivery figures, raising concerns about its dominance in the EV market. In particular, Tesla's Q3 sales saw a 6.7% decline from the previous quarter, marking its first quarterly drop since early 2020 as it grapples with slowing demand, which has led to intense price battles in both the Chinese and American markets.

Chinese juggernaut BYD, backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) (NYSE:BRKb), has seized this opportunity to narrow the gap and potentially overtake its American rival. During the same period, BYD came within striking distance of Tesla's sales, trailing by just over 3,000 units. This razor-thin margin suggests that BYD is on the brink of surpassing its American competitor in BEV sales, an extraordinary achievement following Tesla CEO Elon Musk's previous dismissal of BYD as a mere joke.

BYD has overall made significant strides in China's electric vehicle market by offering more affordable EVs, dethroning Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) (OTC:VWAGY) as China's top-selling car brand.

TSLA gained 6.4% this week from Monday's open to end at $260.53. BYD's locally traded shares ticked down 0.5% to 236.70 {0|Chinese yuan}}.

Polestar reports impressive 3Q growth

Swedish electric car manufacturer Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) has surged with a remarkable 50% year-over-year spike in vehicle deliveries during Q3, primarily driven by robust sales of the upgraded Polestar 2.

The company shipped approximately 13,900 units, a feat that also resulted in improved profit margins. For the first nine months of the year, Polestar achieved a year-over-year growth of 37%, delivering around 41,700 vehicles. As deliveries of the Polestar 4 are set to commence in China in the upcoming Q4, the company maintains an optimistic outlook, aiming to deliver between 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles in 2023.

CEO Thomas Ingenlath called the quarter a "strong" one and said the company expects higher margins for the rest of 2023. He added, "We will soon have a compelling range of three distinctive cars, including two luxury SUVs, each addressing an exclusive luxury EV segment."

Polestar is expected to release its third-quarter financial report on November 8, 2023, after the market closes.

After reaching a weekly high of $2.86 on Tuesday, PSNY shares dialed back but still ended the week up 2.3% from their Monday open.

VinFast continues to slide

Shares of Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast (NASDAQ:VFS) recently plunged 30% after the company said insiders would sell some of their shares in the future.

In just a month, VinFast's market cap plummeted by over $140 billion, with the stock falling below its initial debut listing price of $22 just seven weeks ago.

The majority of VinFast shares, approximately 99%, are controlled by Vingroup's chairman and VinFast's founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, leaving only a small fraction available for external investors. This limited availability of shares contributes to increased volatility in the stock's performance.

Despite these recent challenges, VinFast reported a quarterly loss of half a billion dollars while disclosing the delivery of over 9,000 electric vehicles globally, generating around $315 million in sales for the quarter. The company is actively expanding its presence in North America and is constructing an EV manufacturing facility in North Carolina, with plans to produce up to 150,000 vehicles annually.

Shares of VFS dropped some 27% this week from Monday's open, ending Friday’s session at $8.03.