China continues to achieve new heights in the plug-in car industry. According to EV Volumes‘ data, plug-ins hit their second-highest monthly volume ever and set a new record market share of 49.9% in June 2024.
Plug-ins hit 50% market share in China in June 2024
New passenger plug-in electric car registrations surged about 23% year-on-year to 875,904 units in the Chinese market in June 2024, claiming half of the overall automotive market at 49.9% share.
| Category | Registrations | YOY Change (%) | Market Share |
| BEVs | *482,500 | 1% | 28% |
| PHEVs | *393,000 | 70% | 22% |
| Total | 875,904 | 23% | 49.9% |
As you can observe in the data, this substantial growth mostly stemmed from plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) only grew by 1% YoY in June 2024. Nonetheless, it accounted for about 55% of the total plug-in car volume.
Plug-in car registrations – H1 2024
In the January to June 2024 period, China’s plug-in car registrations grew 31% YoY to more than 4.26 million units. They accounted for approximately 43% of the entire car market. Refer to the table below:
| Category | Registrations (approx.) | YoY Change (%) | Market Share (%) |
| BEVs | *2.55 million | – | 25% |
| PHEVs | *1.69 million | – | 18% |
| Total | 4,269,398 | 31% | 43% |
Top 10 plug-in models – June 2024 & YTD
BYD dominated China’s top 10 most popular plug-ins ranking in June 2024, with 7 model entrants. Tesla’s top-selling Model Y crossover landed second, while the Model 3 sedan fell to the 9th spot. Li Xiang’s L6 is the only non-Tesla and non-BYD model in the list, claiming the 6th spot.
| Rank | Model | Total Units | BEVs | PHEVs |
| 1 | BYD Song | 52,227 | 2,794 | 49,433 |
| 2 | Tesla Model Y | 44,110 | 44,110 | – |
| 3 | BYD Qin Plus | 38,901 | 8,323 | 30,578 |
| 4 | BYD Seagull | 35,201 | 35,201 | – |
| 5 | BYD Yuan Plus (Atto 3) | 23,918 | 23,918 | – |
| 6 | Li Xiang L6 | 23,864 | 23,864 | – |
| 7 | BYD Destroyer 05 | 19,441 | – | 19,441 |
| 8 | BYD Han | 18,698 | 5,957 | 12,741 |
| 9 | Tesla Model 3 | 18,151 | 18,151 | – |
| 10 | BYD Qin L PHEV | 18,021 | – | 18,021 |
Presented below is the YTD ranking (January – June 2024):
| Rank | Model | Total Registrations | BEV Registrations | PHEV Registrations |
| 1 | BYD Song | 292,138 | 42,422 | 249,716 |
| 2 | BYD Qin Plus | 220,008 | 65,945 | 154,063 |
| 3 | Tesla Model Y | 210,817 | 210,817 | – |
| 4 | BYD Seagull | 172,017 | 172,017 | – |
| 5 | BYD Yuan Plus (Atto 3) | 118,303 | 118,303 | – |
| 6 | Aito M7 (EREV) | 106,540 | – | 106,540 |
| 7 | BYD Destroyer 05 | 106,137 | – | 106,137 |
| 8 | BYD Han | 90,520 | 35,093 | 55,427 |
| 9 | Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV | 83,288 | 83,288 | – |
| 10 | Aion Y | 74,241 | 74,241 | – |
Top-selling brands and automotive groups – YTD
As expected, BYD is the most popular plug-in car brand in the Chinese market. It claimed an astounding 30.8% market share, even increasing to 32.9% when including its satellite brands.
America’s Tesla trailed far behind with only a 6.8% market share. It is unsurprising considering that BYD sells both BEVs and PHEVs while Tesla is an all-electric brand with only a few models in its lineup.
| Rank | Brand | Share (%) |
| 1 | BYD | 30.8 |
| 2 | Tesla | 6.8 |
| 3 | Li Auto | 4.6 |
| 4 | SAIC-GM-Wuling | 4.6 |
| 5 | Aito | 4.4 |
Meanwhile, here are the top automotive groups by market share in China’s plug-in car segment in H1 2024:
| Rank | Automotive Group | Share |
| 1 | BYD | 32.9% |
| 2 | Geely-Volvo | 7.9% |
| 3 | Tesla | 6.8% |
| 4 | SAIC | 6.7% |
| 5 | Changan | 6.5% |
PHEVs continue to drive China’s plug-in car industry, even reaching a whopping 70% YoY growth in June 2024. Considering the current trajectory, PHEVs are on track to maintain their lead over BEVs in the second half of 2024. It suggests that the automotive industry may need more time before achieving full electrification. Nonetheless, Plug-ins’ achieving a 50% market share remains a significant milestone.
