16/01/2026
BYD overtaking Tesla isn’t just a headline. It’s a signal of what’s about to start turning up in your diary.
In 2025, BYD sold roughly 2.26m battery electric vehicles, beating Tesla’s ~1.64m
This type of gap happens when a brand becomes normal, not niche, and the rest of the market has to catch up.
What that means on the workshop and bodyshop side is simple:
More Chinese EVs will land in your bays. And they won’t always play nicely with the tooling setup you’ve relied on for years.
At that point, it becomes less about “can I read faults?” but “can I finish the job?”
You’ll see it when you hit:
- Coding, online functions and module replacement that needs OEM-level access
- ADAS work where calibration isn’t optional, and the procedure is brand-specific
- EV and hybrid systems where you need proper data, support equipment and safe workflows
- Coverage gaps where aftermarket tools give you enough to start, but not enough to close it out confidently
If you’re already seeing BYD, MG, Geely and other Chinese brands coming through, now’s the time to audit your capability, not when the car is stuck on the ramp.
So what can you do?
> Check your current tool coverage for Chinese brands (not just “EVs” broadly)
> Decide where you need OEM, where aftermarket is enough, and where remote support fills the gap
> Make sure your ADAS setup is ready (space, targets, software, process)
> Get your EV workflow tight: battery support, programming stability, safe handling
And if you need help with any of this, reach out to us.