Norway’s US$1.5 trillion wealth fund boosted its holdings in Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle leader BYD in 2023 as the companies scaled up production of plug-in cars.

Tesla moved up to the fund’s 11th biggest holding at the end of 2023 as it increased its stake to 0.98 per cent, or about US$7.7 billion, from 0.87 per cent a year earlier, according to a list of holdings the fund publishes once a year on its website. The fund held 0.57 per cent of BYD at the end of last year, up from 0.38 per cent.

Tesla handed over 484,507 vehicles in last three months through December, while BYD sold 526,409 fully electric vehicles in the quarter to become the new leader in EVs, reflecting China’s growing importance in the global automotive industry.

Tesla narrowly missed earnings estimates on January 25 and warned its rate of expansion will be “notably lower” this year after it spent all of 2023 cutting prices to boost sales, which ate into profits. The stock has fallen 23 per cent since the beginning of this year.

Created in the 1990s to invest Norway’s oil and gas revenues abroad, the fund – also known as Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) – largely tracks a benchmark index based on a framework handed down by parliament. It is scheduled to release its key results for 2023 on Tuesday.

NBIM held a 1.04 per cent stake in Volkswagen AG as of the end of 2023, up from 0.75 per cent the year before.