China’s new energy vehicle industry continues to expand, with more than 872,000 plug-in car sales in November 2023. Of that total, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for a whopping 27%.
China’s November electric vehicle sales
Plug-in vehicle sales enjoyed a 39% year-on-year to over 872,000 units in November, according to CleanTechnica. It marked the segment’s fourth consecutive record-breaking month.
Year to date, plug-in vehicle sales surged to more than 7.1 million units. Notably, China’s record sales in November enabled the plug-in vehicles’ market share to increase to 42%.
Of that total, all-electric vehicles (BEVs) contributed an astounding 27% to the country’s overall automotive sales. These figures enabled the 2023 market share to reach 37%, with BEVs accounting for 25%.
Without further ado, this article will present the top-selling EV models, brands, and auto groups in the world’s largest auto market in November 2023 and YTD.
Top 20 EVs in November 2023
As expected, BYD’s popular Song family (BEV+PHEV) dominated the Chinese electric vehicle market with sales of 61,694 units.
Tesla’s Model Y followed with a total sales of 49,877 units. Its sibling, the Tesla Model 3, landed the 13th spot with only 15,627 sales. Other BYD models completed the top five. Refer to the table below:
| Rank | Model | November | % |
| 1 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 61,694 | 7.1% |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 49,877 | 5.7% |
| 3 | BYD Seagull | 44,603 | 5.1% |
| 4 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 40,852 | 4.7% |
| 5 | BYD Dolphin | 35,246 | 4.0% |
| 6 | BYD Yuan Plus | 25,761 | 3.0% |
| 7 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 22,985 | 2.6% |
| 8 | Wuling Bingo | 24,024 | 2.8% |
| 9 | GAC Aion Y | 22,355 | 2.6% |
| 10 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 18,378 | 2.1% |
| 11 | AITO M7 EREV | 17,039 | 2.0% |
| 12 | Li Xiang L7 | 16,599 | 1.9% |
| 13 | Tesla Model 3 | 15,627 | 1.8% |
| 14 | Geely Panda Mini | 15,188 | 1.7% |
| 15 | Changan Lumin | 14,923 | 1.7% |
| 16 | Li Xiang L8 | 12,476 | 1.4% |
| 17 | VW ID.3 | 12,040 | 1.4% |
| 18 | BYD Seal PHEV | 12,011 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Li Xiang L9 | 11,955 | 1.4% |
| 20 | GAC Aion S | 11,728 | 1.3% |
| Others | – | 387,054 | 44.4% |
| Total | – | 872,415 | 100.0% |
Top 20 EVs – YTD
Year to date, the BYD Song family successfully maintained its significant lead with sales of 553,695 units. The BYD Qin Plus lineup snatched the second spot from the Tesla Model Y with 411,305 sales. Meanwhile, the American all-electric crossover sold a total of 396,339 units.
Another two BYD models completed the top five, including the Dolphin (307,986) and Yuan Plus (307,691). Refer to the table below:
| Rank | Model | 2023 | % |
| 1 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 553,695 | 7.8% |
| 2 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 411,305 | 5.8% |
| 3 | Tesla Model Y | 396,339 | 5.6% |
| 4 | BYD Dolphin | 307,986 | 4.3% |
| 5 | BYD Yuan Plus | 307,691 | 4.3% |
| 6 | GAC Aion Y | 213,039 | 3.0% |
| 7 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 212,848 | 3.0% |
| 8 | BYD Seagull | 212,652 | 3.0% |
| 9 | GAC Aion S | 205,688 | 2.9% |
| 10 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 202,789 | 2.9% |
| 11 | Wuling Bingo | 140,306 | 2.0% |
| 12 | Tesla Model 3 | 131,520 | 1.8% |
| 13 | BYD Tang (BEV+PHEV) | 126,428 | 1.8% |
| 14 | Changan Lumin | 124,937 | 1.8% |
| 15 | Li Xiang L7 | 113,661 | 1.6% |
| 16 | Denza D9 (BEV+PHEV) | 107,979 | 1.5% |
| 17 | Li Xiang L8 | 102,977 | 1.4% |
| 18 | Li Xiang L9 | 99,464 | 1.4% |
| 19 | Geely Panda Mini | 97,102 | 1.4% |
| 20 | BYD Destroyer 05 PHEV | 85,219 | 1.2% |
| Others | 2,957,385 | 41.6% | |
| Total | 7,111,010 | 100.0% |
Top 5 EV brands
Unsurprisingly, Chinese NEV giant BYD was the top-selling electric vehicle brand in November, with a market share of 33.9%. The American electric automaker Tesla followed with a 7.5% market share. Other three Chinese companies completed the top five, including GAC Aion (6.2%), SGMW (5.6%), and Li Auto (4.6%). Here are the top five automotive brands for EV sales in the world’s largest auto market:
| Rank | Brand | Market Share |
| 1 | BYD | 33.9% |
| 2 | Tesla | 7.5% |
| 3 | GAC Aion | 6.2% |
| 4 | SGMW | 5.6% |
| 5 | Li Auto | 4.6% |
Top 5 auto groups
BYD maintained its dominant position as the leading automotive group for electric vehicle sales in the Chinese market, with a share of 36.1%. Tesla landed the second spot with a 7.5% market share. SAIC closely followed with a 7.2% market share, while Geely-Volvo (7%) and GAC (6.6%) completed the top five. Presented below are the November 2023 auto groups rankings:
| Rank | Brand | Market Share |
| 1 | BYD | 36.1% |
| 2 | Tesla | 7.5% |
| 3 | SAIC | 7.2% |
| 4 | Geely-Volvo | 7% |
| 5 | GAC | 6.6% |
In a significant development, BYD successfully overthrew Tesla as the world’s top-selling electric automaker. BYD sold a total of 526,409 battery-electric vehicles in Q4 2024. In contrast, Tesla only delivered 484,507 BEVs in the same period. It signifies BYD’s continuous growth in the global EV industry, which further intensifies the competition in the rapidly growing market.
