Chinese company BYD surpasses Tesla's revenues for the first time

Chinese electric car giant BYD saw its quarterly revenue rise, beating Tesla for the first time.

It generated revenues of more than 200 billion yuan ($28.2 billion, £21.8 billion) between July and September. This represents a 24% jump over the same period last year, and more than Elon Musk's company, which had quarterly revenues of $25.2 billion.

However, Tesla still sold more electric vehicles than BYD in the third quarter.

This comes as electric vehicle sales in China are getting a boost from government support to encourage consumers to replace their gasoline-powered cars with electric or hybrid vehicles.

BYD also achieved a record monthly sales in the final month of the quarter, a sign of continued momentum building China's best-selling automaker.

But there is a growing backlash abroad against the Chinese government's support for domestic automakers like BYD.

Earlier this week, EU tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese electric vehicle imports took effect across the bloc.

Chinese electric car makers were already facing a 100% tax from the United States and Canada.

These tariffs are in response to alleged unfair government support for China's auto industry.

As of last week, official data showed that 1.57 million applications had been submitted for a national subsidy of $2,800 for every old car replaced with a green car.

This is in addition to other government incentives that are already in place.

China relies on high-tech products to help revive its faltering economy, and the European Union is considered the largest external market for the country's electric car industry.

Its domestic auto industry has grown rapidly over the past two decades, and its brands, such as BYD, have begun moving into international markets, raising concerns in countries such as the European Union that its companies will not be able to compete with cheaper prices.