The first quarter of 2023 saw the sales of plug-in cars reach over 2.5 million units worldwide, per EV-Volumes data shared by Jose Pontes. That figure represents roughly 13% of the overall global car sales.
Interestingly, five OEMs worldwide account for over 50% of all plug-in car sales in Q1 2023, as noted by InsideEVs.
Plug-ins category (BEV+PHEVs)
The plug-in category incorporates sales results of battery-electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV).
According to the data, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD continues to dominate the segment, with sales of more than 548,000 units in Q1 2023 and a market share of 21.3%.
Unsurprisingly, America’s EV leader Tesla claimed the second spot with sales of 422,873 battery-electric cars and a market share of 16.5%.
Interestingly, these top two auto companies both enjoyed remarkable year-on-year growth in their volume and market share, implying that they are now outperforming the overall plug-in market.
Germany’s Volkswagen Group followed them with sales of 189,093 units, recording a YoY market share decline from 8.8% to 7.4%.
Geely-Volvo ranked fourth with 156,475 sales and a 6.1% share. The top five were completed by SAIC-GM-Wuling, recording sales of 141,661 and a 5.5% share.
| Automotive Group | Sales | Share (vs. previous year) |
| BYD Group: | 548,148 | 21.3% share (vs 14.3%) |
| Tesla: | 422,873 | 16.5% share (vs 15.5%) |
| Volkswagen Group: | 189,093 | 7.4% share (vs 8.8%) |
| Geely-Volvo: | 156,475 | 6.1% share (vs 5.6%) |
| SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): | 141,661 | 5.5% share (vs 8.5%) |
| Top 5 total: | 1,458,250 | 56.8% share |
| Others: | 1,110,877 | 43.2% share |
| Total: | 2,569,127 | – |
Overall, these top five OEMs account for almost 57% of all plug-in car sales worldwide in Q1 2023.
Battery-electric category (BEV)
Considering that this category only counts battery-electric vehicle registrations, we can notice slight changes in the rankings.
As we all know, the all-electric brand Tesla is significantly ahead of its competitors. That said, it claimed the top spot with sales of 422,873 units and a market share of 23.6%.
BYD landed second with 264,300 sales and a faster-growing market share of 14.7% than Tesla. The Volkswagen Group remained third, with 133,933 sales and a 7.5% share.
See Also:
- Top OEMs of all-electric cars by sales in 2022: BYD goes after Tesla
- Top OEMs of EVs based on Q3 2022 sales: BYD threatens Tesla’s position
- Plug-in car sales topped 800,000 globally in February, 2023
- BYD passenger plug-in car sales surpassed 150,000 units globally in January 2023
- Global Electric Vehicle sales surged more than 55% in 2022
Finally, Geely-Volvo strongly defended its place in the rankings with sales of 102,018 and a 5.7% share.
Again, these top five EV companies account for over 50% of all BEV sales in the first quarter of 2023.
| Automotive Group | Sales | Share (vs. previous year) |
| Tesla: | 422,873 | 23.6% share (vs 21.6%) |
| BYD Group: | 264,300 | 14.7% share (vs 10%) |
| Volkswagen Group: | 133,933 | 7.5% share (vs 6.8%) |
| SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): | 133,269 | 7.4% share (vs 10.7%) |
| Geely-Volvo: | 102,018 | 5.7% share |
| Top 5 total: | 1,056,393 | 57% share |
| Others: | about 0.78 million | 43% share |
| Total: | about 1.84 million | 23.6% share (vs 21.6%) |
