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,

Despite the EU's imposition of tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, registrations of such cars increased 59% in April from a year earlier.

BYDs Hong Kong-listed shares (HK:1211) soared to a record high of HK$477.80 on Friday, driven by news that the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker outsold Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in Europe for the first time.