BYD's success in the EU comes despite the economic bloc's imposition of punitive tariffs on battery electric vehicles made in China last October.BYD sold more pure battery electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla for the first time ever last month — a "watershed moment" for the region's car market,

BYD Co. sold more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla Inc. for the first time, overtaking the American brand that long led the continent’s EV segment.

Despite steep tariffs, the Chinese carmaker leapfrogged Tesla in April, in what an analyst called a “watershed moment” for the continent’s auto market.