The Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has seen its quarterly revenues soar, beating Tesla’s for the first period.

It posted more than 200bn yuan ($28.2bn, £21.8bn) in revenues between July and September. This is a 24% jump from the same period last year, and more than Elon Musk’s business whose quarterly returns was $25.2bn.

However, Tesla still sold more electric vehicle (EVs) than BYD in the third quarter.

It comes as EV sales in China have been getting a boost from government subsidies to inspire consumers to trade their petrol-powered cars for EVs or hybrids.

BYD also notched a monthly sales record in the last month of the quarter, in a sign that momentum continues to construct for China’s bestselling car maker.

But there is a growing backlash abroad against the Chinese government’s back for domestic car makers like BYD.

Earlier this week, European Union tariffs of up to 45.3% on imports of Chinese made EVs came into force across the bloc.

Chinese EV makers were already facing a 100% responsibility from the United States and Canada.

The tariffs are in response to alleged unfair state subsidisation of China’s car industry.

As of last week, official data showed 1.57 million applications had been submitted for a national subsidy of $2,800 per each older vehicle traded in for a greener one.

That’s on top of other government incentives already in place.

China has been counting on high-tech products to assist revive its flagging economy, and the EU is the largest overseas trade for the country’s electric car industry.

Its domestic car industry has grown rapidly over the history two decades and its brands, such as BYD, have begun moving into international markets, prompting fears from the likes of the EU that its own companies will be unable to compete with the cheaper prices.