In the race for the top spot among electric car manufacturers, Chinese automaker BYD had to relinquish its leading position to American rival Tesla in the first quarter of this year. According to a recent announcement from BYD, about 300,000 electric vehicles were sold from January to March, which represents a decline of 43 percent compared to the previous quarter. In contrast, analysts expect that Tesla will announce sales figures of approximately 458,000 units for the first quarter. Tesla is on the verge of releasing its sales numbers, while BYD has already disclosed its sales figures.

In the previous year, BYD managed to overtake Tesla in the electric car segment and replace Volkswagen as the market leader in overall vehicle sales of all types of drivetrains, thanks to its strong growth in the Chinese market, the world's largest car market. For the current year, BYD has set a sales target of 3.6 million vehicles, which would correspond to a growth of 20 percent.

Despite the decline in the first quarter, BYD's stock closed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a gain of 0.5 percent at 202.60 Hong Kong dollars. The current developments highlight the intense competition and dynamic changes in the global electric vehicle market, where Tesla and BYD are considered leading players.