Battery-powered vehicles are somewhat popular in China. It’s estimated by analytics firm Roh Motion that around 17.1 million electrified vehicles were sold globally in 2024. Of that total, around 11 million were snapped up by drivers in the large Asian nation, a year-over-year increase of around 40 percent. China is the undisputed EV leader, but which automakers are selling the most vehicles? Here’s a breakdown from last month.
BYD Is The Undisputed Champion
In China, one manufacturer dominates the market of so-called new-energy vehicles (NEVs), cars and trucks that are NOT primarily motivated by fossil fuels. This includes pure EVs, plug-in hybrids, range-extended electrics, and even hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. According to CnEVpost.com, the leader in March – and by a wide margin – is BYD with more than 29 percent of the market. That equates to in excess of 290,000 retail sales last month, a year-over-year increase of 11.5 percent.
Underscoring the company’s dominance, the second-place finisher, Geely, clocked in at just 11.2 percent, which represents nearly 111,000 retail sales, a staggering 165.3-percent increase compared to the same month in 2024.
Curiously, the No. 3 finisher in March was Tesla. This is somewhat unexpected given the huge number of automakers in China, and the staggering choice motorists have. Regardless, the Muskmobile manufacturer racked up more than 74,000 retail sales in China, a year-over-year increase of nearly 19 percent. Overall, Tesla’s market share for the month was 7.5 percent, down from last year when it hit 8.8 percent. So, even though this company grew its sales significantly, Tesla still lost market share because its slice of the pie got smaller.
After the top three, we have SAIC-GM-Wuling, with 7 percent market share, Changan at 6.2, Chery at 4.5, and Li Auto at 3.7 percent. Rounding out the top 10 NEV sellers last month are Leapmotor (3.4 percent), GAC Aion (3.3 percent), and Xpeng (3 percent).
First-Quarter Numbers Are Nearly Identical
When looking at sales for the first quarter of 2025, the order is largely the same as above. BYD still dominated with 28.8 percent of the market and more than 696,000 units sold from the first of January to the end of March. Next, we have Geely at 13.3 percent, but then things move around a bit, with SAIC-GM-Wuling garnering 6.5 percent of the market and Changan earning the same amount. Tesla landed in fifth place at 5.6 percent with 134,607 units delivered.
It’s fascinating to look at new vehicle sales in China. The market is huge, the products offered are incredibly diverse, and there are so many different manufacturers. It will be interesting to see if these NEV sales trends continue, and whether the automotive industry in China ever consolidates like it has in other major markets around the world.
Read the full article here
