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Chinese auto giant BYD has emerged as stiff competition for Tesla

By Monica Miller

BBC News, Singapore

Electric car maker Tesla has a Chinese rival in its rear-view mirror.

Shares in BYD, or Build Your Dreams, jumped this week after it said it expected third-quarter profits to more than double compared with last year.

BYD is now ahead of Tesla in quarterly production - and second to the US car maker in global sales.

Its success is also a sign of just how much China's auto industry is growing - China overtook Japan this year to become the world's biggest exporter.

It's a bright spot in a sluggish Chinese economy that is reeling from a severe property crisis and record unemployment.

But, on the less bright side, Beijing's tensions are also growing with many of the countries - not least the US and European Union nations - that are export markets for its electric vehicles or EVs. As the world shifts to new, cleaner technologies, this is yet another example of how tough it will be for Western countries to move away from their reliance on Chinese goods.

How BYD built its dreams

It had an advantage from the start: unlike car makers who expanded to build electric models, BYD was originally a battery company that later started making cars.