While Tesla dominated the headlines again in 2025, electric car competitors performed better on the stock market.
• General Motors increased its sales in 2025 and achieved record sales
• Rivian relies on new models and AI technology
• Chinese electric car manufacturers increased significantly in 2025
The industry leader Tesla was able to gain on the stock market in 2025, but for investors in the electric car segment, shares from direct competitors of the US group would have been significantly more worthwhile.
The US company Rivian and established manufacturers from South Korea and Japan, among others, shone – but the winner for 2025 comes from China. While Tesla shares only achieved moderate price gains of around eleven percent in 2025, other manufacturers in the electric car segment grew significantly more.
BYD: Chinese EV competitor sets the tone
BYD shares performed positively in 2025. As one of Tesla’s most important competitors, the Chinese company’s share price on its home stock exchange in Hong Kong only rose by around ten percent.
BYD particularly benefited from the 28 percent increase in global electric vehicle sales in 2025, especially in Europe, where BYD was able to further expand its leadership position over Tesla, reports Reuters.
Hyundai and Toyota: proven manufacturers on the road to success
The Japanese company Toyota also increased its share price – but remained well behind its US competitor, with a price increase of around 6.67 percent from 3,146 Japanese yen at the end of 2024 to 3,356 Japanese yen at the end of 2025.
The South Korean electric car manufacturer Hyundai was significantly more convincing; it impressed on the home stock exchange in South Korea in 2025 with strong growth of 39.9 percent.
Rivian: Emerging EV specialist with an AI focus
The US electric car manufacturer Rivian shone with price gains of around 48 percent. This was achieved even though the number of vehicles delivered fell by around 31 percent compared to 2024 and 2025. The company delivered 14,183 vehicles in 2024 and only 9,745 vehicles in 2025.
At its first Autonomy & AI Day 2025, Rivian presented its own AI chip and a new autonomy platform that are intended to enable autonomous driving and smart assistance systems. With this innovation-driven strategy, Rivian is positioning itself as a high-growth player Electric car-Market.
NIO: Strong growth from China
The Chinese manufacturer NIO also showed significant growth in 2025.
The shares of the electric car manufacturer rose by around 17 percent on the US stock market. According to the company, it was able to increase its delivery figures from 61,855 in the third quarter of 2024 to 87,071 in the third quarter of 2025 within a year, recording an increase of around 40.8 percent.
Chinese electric car manufacturer Geely increases sales by 39 percent
The Chinese electric car manufacturer Geely Automobile Holdings posted price gains of around 21 percent in 2025.
According to the company, Geely increased its sales to 3,024,567 units in 2025, an increase of 39 percent compared to the same period last year.
Under the Geely umbrella, the company brings together brands such as Volvo and Polestar. Electric car provider Zeekr, a subsidiary of Geely, has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
General Motors: US car supplier with a strong comeback
General Motors was also able to record impressive share price gains of around 53 percent in 2025.
As the company announced in a statement dated January 5, 2026, the full-size pickup trucks from Chevrolet and GMC were particularly in demand, together achieving the best sales figures in 20 years.
General Motors also maintained its top position in the full-size SUV segment, while becoming the second largest player in the electric vehicle industry. All four brands posted gains in 2025 – from record sales of GMC and Chevrolet’s SUVs to Cadillac’s bests in a decade and Buick’s strong growth.
Xpeng as a leader in price development in 2025
The Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng recorded the strongest price increases in 2025.
The US-listed Xpeng shares rose by 71.57 percent within a year.
Deliveries also increased significantly: from 46,533 vehicles in the third quarter of 2024 to 116,007 vehicles in the third quarter of the following year – an increase of almost 150 percent. This secures Xpeng the title of top performer in the electric car segment in 2025.
The performance of electric car stocks in 2025 will be quite different. Even though the industry leader Tesla was able to achieve double-digit growth, there were significantly more successful industry representatives on the market. Investors did not always have the strongest electric car stock in their portfolios with the electric car pioneer. Editorial team finanzen.net
This text is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an investment recommendation. finanzen.net GmbH excludes any claims for recourse.
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