China’s BYD Co bills itself as the biggest car brand you have never heard of. It might need a different tagline soon. 

The automaker is poised to surpass Tesla as the new worldwide leader in fully-electric vehicle (EV) sales. When it does – likely in the current quarter – it will be both a symbolic turning point for the EV market and further confirmation of China’s growing clout in the global automotive industry.

In a sector still dominated by more familiar names, like Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen and General Motors, Chinese manufacturers, including BYD and SAIC Motor Corp, are making serious inroads. After leapfrogging the US, South Korea and Germany over the past few years, China now rivals Japan for the global lead in passenger car exports. Some 1.3 million of the 3.6 million vehicles shipped from the mainland as of October this year were electric. 

“The competitive landscape of the auto industry has changed,” notes Bridget McCarthy, the head of China operations for Shenzhen-based hedge fund Snow Bull Capital, which has invested in both BYD and Tesla. “It is no longer about the size and legacy of auto companies; it is about the speed at which they can innovate and iterate. BYD began preparing long ago to be able to do this faster than anyone thought possible, and now, the rest of the industry has to race to catch up.”