China's BYD tops Tesla as world's bestselling electric car maker

Driving the news: Tesla delivered more than 484,000 EVs in the fourth quarter, it reported Tuesday, up 19.5% from a year earlier.

• But BYD sold more than 526,000 battery-only vehicles in the same quarter.
• The Chinese company had already passed Tesla on total EV sales when including plug-in hybrids, which are partially electric vehicles that can also use gasoline.

Between the lines: This is more about BYD's rise than Tesla's struggles.

• BYD — famously backed by investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway — is gaining a foothold in key foreign markets.
• In Europe, it's using "aggressive end-of-year discounting" to bolster its market share, according to Automotive News.

What they're saying: "No one can match BYD on price," Dunne Insights analyst Michael Dunne writes, noting the company's September launch of the $11,500 BYD Seagull hatchback.

• The company also has "arguably the world's most advanced battery," "dramatically" upgraded design and improving quality, Dunne notes.

Yes, but: Tesla remains the world's leading seller of premium EVs — and it's not expected to face BYD in the U.S. anytime soon.

• The political implications of a Chinese automaker selling vehicles in the U.S. are likely too much for both Republicans and Democrats to bear — for now.