Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have just reached a 25% share in all new car sales in China in 2023, EV-Volumes market analyst José Pontes reports via CleanTechnica.
Plugin electric vehicle sales – FY 2023
China’s plugin vehicle sales hit another record month in December 2023, enabling a 46% year-over-year (YoY) growth to 980,000 units in 2023.
BEVs also enjoyed a notable YoY growth of 31% to 618,000 units. They accounted for 63% of the country’s plugin vehicle market in December, but below the 66% average in the entire year. Notably, the 66% share last year was also down from 74% in the same period last year.
The slower sales growth of all-electric vehicles is primarily due to the growing prominence of extended-range (EREV) models in China.
Nonetheless, 2023 still poses a remarkable growth in the plugin vehicle industry. In hindsight, its market share was only at 6.3% (5.1% BEV) in 2020, 15% (12% BEV) in 2021, and 30% (22% BEV) in 2022.
Impressively, China’s plugin vehicles reached 37% share, with BEVs alone holding 25%.
Without further ado, below are the key insights on China’s plug-in vehicle industry in December and YTD:
Top EVs – December 2023 & YTD
| Rank | Model | December 2023 |
| 1 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 72,182 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 60,055 |
| 3 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 41,142 |
| 4 | BYD Seagull | 41,012 |
| 5 | BYD Yuan Plus | 30,799 |
| 6 | Wuling Bingo | 27,458 |
| 7 | BYD Dolphin | 26,814 |
| 8 | AITO M7 EREV | 25,545 |
| 9 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 25,015 |
| 10 | GAC Aion Y | 22,678 |
| 11 | Li Xiang L7 | 20,428 |
| 12 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 19,832 |
| 13 | Tesla Model 3 | 15,750 |
| 14 | GAC Aion S | 15,216 |
| 15 | Li Xiang L8 | 15,013 |
| 16 | Li Xiang L9 | 14,913 |
| 17 | VW ID.3 | 13,201 |
| 18 | BAIC EU-Series | 12,811 |
| 19 | BYD Tang (BEV+PHEV) | 12,807 |
| 20 | Geely Panda Mini | 12,538 |
| Others | 455,528 | |
| TOTAL | 980,737 |
Top EVs – YTD
| Rank | Model | FY 2023 | % |
| 1 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 627,731 | 7.8% |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 456,394 | 5.6% |
| 3 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 434,910 | 5.4% |
| 4 | BYD Yuan Plus | 338,490 | 4.2% |
| 5 | BYD Dolphin | 334,800 | 4.1% |
| 6 | BYD Seagull | 253,664 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 237,878 | 2.9% |
| 8 | GAC Aion Y | 235,717 | 2.9% |
| 9 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 227,705 | 2.8% |
| 10 | GAC Aion S | 220,904 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Wuling Bingo | 167,764 | 2.1% |
| 12 | Tesla Model 3 | 146,910 | 1.8% |
| 13 | BYD Tang (BEV+PHEV) | 140,854 | 1.7% |
| 14 | Changan Lumin | 136,764 | 1.7% |
| 15 | Li Xiang L7 | 134,089 | 1.7% |
| 16 | Denza D9 (BEV+PHEV) | 118,471 | 1.5% |
| 17 | Li Xiang L8 | 117,990 | 1.5% |
| 18 | Li Xiang L9 | 114,377 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Geely Panda Mini | 109,640 | 1.4% |
| 20 | BYD Destroyer 05 PHEV | 93,521 | 1.2% |
| Others | 3,446,505 | 42.6% | |
| TOTAL | 8,095,078 | 100.0% |
Top auto brands – December 2023
| Rank | Auto Brands | December 2023 |
| 1 | BYD | 33.8% |
| 2 | Tesla | 7.5% |
| 3 | GAC Aion | 6.0% |
| 4 | SGWM | 5.8% |
| 5 | Li Auto | 4.7% |
Top auto groups- December 2023
| Rank | Auto Groups | December 2023 |
| 1 | BYD | 33.5% |
| 2 | SAIC | 7.5% |
| 3 | Tesla | 7.5% |
| 4 | Geely-Volvo | 7.1% |
| 5 | GAC | 6.5% |
Considering the continuous growth of plugin electric vehicles in China, it would not be surprising if the local market witnessed a growth slowdown in the coming months. Nonetheless, the Chinese plugin electric vehicle market will still likely hit the 50% threshold by 2026. By this time, BEVs should account for more than a third of the overall sales in the world’s largest auto market.
It is also worth noting that China has successfully overthrown Japan as the world’s largest car exporter in 2023 amid the shift to electric vehicles.
