Comments A BYD Co. Rocco electric kei car on show at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo, Japan in October (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images) China’s BYD is on track to knock Elon Musk’s Tesla off the top spot as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles (EVs) for the first time. The Chinese carmaker said on Thursday that sales of its fully electric vehicles jumped by nearly 28% last year, topping 2.25 million worldwide. That puts it comfortably ahead of Tesla, which is expected to confirm annual sales of around 1.65 million vehicles when it publishes its final figures later on Friday, based on analysts’ estimates released last week. Tesla has had a challenging year, with a lukewarm response to new models, growing competition from Chinese brands and controversy surrounding Musk’s political involvement. Carmakers including BYD, MG and Geely have been undercutting Western rivals by offering cheaper EVs, putting pressure on established brands. Tesla attempted to fight back in October by rolling out lower-cost versions of its two best-selling models in the US in a bid to revive demand. Musk is under pressure to dramatically grow Tesla’s sales and share price after securing a blockbuster pay deal approved by shareholders in November. Tesla’s newer models, including the Model Y Performance pictured, haven’t had the enthusiastic response the firm had hoped for (Photo: Tesla) Elon Musk, pictured in November, secured a pay deal to increase Tesla sales dramatically that could net him as much as $1 trillion (Picture: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)