China’s plugin electric vehicle sales have just achieved a 33% market share in February 2024 with a total sales of 440,000 units (down 9% year-on-year), according to EV-Volumes data.
The sales decline is largely due to the Chinese New Year’s occurrence in February this year, indicating a 1-month delay compared to last year’s celebrations.
Plugin electric vehicle sales – Feb 2024
As mentioned, plugin electric vehicle sales in China declined 9% YoY to 440,000 units in February 2024. Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) were mostly responsible for the segment’s sales drop, with a 22% YoY decline.
On the other hand, plugin hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) increased by an astounding 22% in the same period, hitting their golden age in the world’s largest auto market.
Despite the decline, plugin electric vehicles still managed to hit a market share of 33%. BEVs alone contributed 22% to China’s overall vehicle sales.
Year to date, China sold a total of 1.1 million plugin electric vehicles, It also indicates a 33% market share with BEVs accounting for 20%.
Top selling models – Monthly
BYD’s Qin Plus family, including BEV and PHEV variants, led the market with 27,851 unit sales. Tesla’s popular electric crossover Model Y followed with only 22,537 units. Presented below are the most popular plugin electric vehicle models in China for February 2024:
| Rank | Model | February | % |
| 1 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 27,851 | 6.3% |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 22,537 | 5.1% |
| 3 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 22,079 | 5.0% |
| 4 | AITO M7 | 21,083 | 4.8% |
| 5 | BYD Seagull | 14,403 | 3.3% |
| 6 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 12,649 | 2.9% |
| 7 | BYD Dolphin | 9,213 | 2.1% |
| 8 | Li Xiang L7 | 8,459 | 1.9% |
| 9 | BYD Yuan Plus | 8,210 | 1.9% |
| 10 | Wuling Bingo | 8,087 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Tesla Model 3 | 7,604 | 1.7% |
| 12 | BYD Destroyer 05 PHEV | 6,953 | 1.6% |
| 13 | Li Xiang L9 | 6,336 | 1.4% |
| 14 | Chery Fengyun A8 PHEV | 6,126 | 1.4% |
| 15 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 5,970 | 1.4% |
| 16 | Aion Y | 5,794 | 1.3% |
| 17 | Wuling Starlight (BEV+PHEV) | 5,647 | 1.3% |
| 18 | Aion S | 5,462 | 1.2% |
| 19 | Li Xiang L8 | 5,457 | 1.2% |
| 20 | Geely Panda Mini | 5,188 | 1.2% |
| Others | 224,892 | 54.8% | |
| TOTAL | 440,000 | 100% |
Top selling models – YTD
Year to date, BYD’s Song family kicked the Qin Plus lineup to the second spot with sales of 74,298 units. The Tesla Model Y dropped to the third spot with a total sales of 52,449. Here are the best-selling plugin electric vehicles in China from January to February 2024:
| Rank | Model | January-February 2024 | % |
| 1 | BYD Song (BEV+PHEV) | 74,298 | 6.6% |
| 2 | BYD Qin Plus (BEV+PHEV) | 57,095 | 5.1% |
| 3 | Tesla Model Y | 52,449 | 4.7% |
| 4 | AITO M7 | 51,080 | 4.5% |
| 5 | BYD Seagull | 42,453 | 3.8% |
| 6 | Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | 28,169 | 2.5% |
| 7 | BYD Dolphin | 25,599 | 2.3% |
| 8 | BYD Yuan Plus | 25,041 | 2.2% |
| 9 | Li Xiang L7 | 21,802 | 1.9% |
| 10 | Changan Lumin | 19,886 | 1.8% |
| 11 | Wuling Bingo | 19,833 | 1.8% |
| 12 | Tesla Model 3 | 17,573 | 1.6% |
| 13 | BYD Han (BEV+PHEV) | 17,218 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Geely Panda Mini | 16,280 | 1.4% |
| 15 | Aion Y | 15,873 | 1.4% |
| 16 | Wuling Starlight (BEV+PHEV) | 15,750 | 1.4% |
| 17 | Li Xiang L9 | 15,098 | 1.3% |
| 18 | Aion S | 14,996 | 1.3% |
| 19 | Geely Galaxy L7 | 14,547 | 1.3% |
| 20 | Li Xiang L8 | 14,518 | 1.3% |
| Others | 609,666 | 54.2% | |
| TOTAL | 1,125,163 | 100% |
Top auto brands
As expected, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD led the automotive brands in terms of sales on its home turf in February 2024. America’s Tesla followed in the second spot. Refer to the table below:
| Rank | Brand | Market Share |
| 1 | BYD | 28.3% |
| 2 | Tesla | 6.2% |
| 3 | Wuling | 6.2% |
| 4 | AITO | 5.3% |
| 5 | Geely | 5.2% |
Top auto groups
BYD remains the top-selling automotive group for electric vehicles in China in February 2024 followed by three other local local players. The Musk-led company landed the fifth spot in the rankings. Here’s the list:
| Rank | Auto Group | Market Share |
| 1 | BYD | 29.2% |
| 2 | Geely-Volvo | 9.3% |
| 3 | SAIC | 8.9% |
| 4 | Changan | 6.6% |
| 5 | Tesla | 6.2% |
Given that the final month of the quarter usually delivers stronger sales results, China’s plugin vehicle market share will likely reach 35% in the first quarter and nearly 40% in the first half of 2024.
