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After overtaking their U.S. competitors in sales for the first time, Chinese carmakers are one step closer to fulfilling Tesla<\/a> CEO Elon Musk\u2019s prophecy that one day they would \u201cdemolish\u201d most other car companies.<\/p>\n Chinese carmakers sold 13.43 million cars last year, outpacing the 11.93 million cars sold by American companies, according to a report<\/a> by automotive data company JATO Dynamics. Warren Buffett-backed EV maker BYD<\/a> produced the most popular Chinese car, a compact sedan called the Qin, and had two other vehicles in the top 25 most sold cars last year. Tesla, for its part, claimed the title of the best selling car in 2023 with the Model Y.<\/p>\n In a Tesla earnings call in January, Musk praised Chinese automakers, calling them the \u201cmost competitive\u201d carmakers in the world. He also warned<\/a> against Chinese automakers\u2019 rapid growth.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world,\u201d Musk said at the time.<\/p>\n That prediction may slowly be coming true as \u200b\u200bChinese car brands look abroad to spur growth after seeing demand fall in China<\/a>. Last year, Chinese automakers trailed only Japanese and European automakers in terms of global light vehicle sales, according to the report.<\/p>\n Felipe Mu\u00f1oz, a senior analyst at JATO Dynamics, said the conformity of legacy carmakers is partly to blame for the rise of strong Chinese competitors.<\/p>\n \u201cNegligence from legacy automakers, which has resulted in consistently high car prices, has inadvertently driven consumers towards more affordable Chinese alternatives,\u201d Munoz said in a statement. \u201cAs car prices continue to rise elsewhere, Chinese car brands are capitalizing on this trend to gain market traction at a much faster pace.\u201d<\/p>\n Confronted with the might of China\u2019s growing auto sector, some legacy carmakers are taking action to compete. In Japan, two of its biggest automakers, Nissan<\/a> and Honda<\/a>, announced a partnership<\/a> in March to compete with China on electric vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some politicians have accused Chinese carmakers of unethical behavior while attempting\u00a0 to stymie their threat through tariffs. This week, the European Commission slapped three Chinese automakers, including BYD, with import tariffs ranging from 17.4% to 38.1%<\/a> following a probe<\/a> by the commission that found battery electric vehicles from China benefited from state subsidies unfair to global competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n