When it comes to electrified vehicles, China is the undisputed global sales leader. For myriad reasons, drivers in the large Asian nation are snapping up new all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles at an astonishing pace, something that is underscored by sales figures from March. Here’s what went down in China last month.
March Sales Hit 1 Million
According to a report from CnEVPost.com, sales of so-called new energy vehicles (NEV), that is, cars and trucks predominantly powered by something other than fossil fuels, increased in March following the country’s slow season surrounding the Chinese New Year holiday. NEV is largely synonymous with plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, though hydrogen fuel cell models are included as well.
It’s estimated that automakers sold 1 million NEVs in March, while wholesale deliveries hit 1.14 million units. This performance represents a 37 percent month-over-month increase compared to February. Additionally, NEV wholesale deliveries are estimated at 2.86 million units for the first quarter of 2025, a whopping 43 percent increase compared to the same time period last year.
Breaking things down, BYD’s wholesale deliveries clocked in at 371,419 vehicles last month, making this brand the top seller, and by a country mile, or whatever the Chinese equivalent of this folksy unit of measure is. Geely, in comparison, moved 119,696 units in March, Tesla 78,828, and SAIC-GM-Wuling 74,108 vehicles. Chery’s wholesale sales clocked in at 56,450.
Smaller brands did well, too. Nio sold more than 15,000 vehicles last month, a year-over-year increase of nearly 27 percent. Li Auto’s deliveries jumped almost 27 percent compared to March 2024, clocking in at 36,674. And Xpeng moved more than 33,000 vehicles, a staggering 268 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
China Dominates Global EV Sales
China is a driving force in global electric vehicle sales, something March’s NEV figures prove. Deliveries of these vehicles, however, could be even more significant once 2024 is over.
According to analytics firm Rho Motion, 17.1 million electric vehicles were sold around the world in 2024, a year-over-year increase of 25 percent. And of that total, how many were delivered to drivers in China? How about 11 million. Yes, 11 million, or roughly 64 percent of global EV sales. Making that performance even more impressive, it represents a 40 percent increase compared to 2023.
Electric vehicle deliveries in Europe totaled 3 million units last year, which, curiously, represents a 3 percent decline. Next, 1.8 million electrics were sold in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, and as for the rest of the world, drivers bought around 1.3 million EVs last year.
Adding some context to these 2024 sales figures, Charles Lester, Rho Motion data manager said in a media release, “What is clear is that government carrots and sticks are working. In North America, the nine-percent growth can mostly be attributed to consumer subsidies, and over in the UK, the ZEV mandate has highly incentivized manufacturers to push their low emission cars.” But all is not perfect. “Meanwhile,” Lester continued, “the removal of subsidies in Germany had a devastating impact on the whole European market. If the US follows suit, we may see the same there.”
It will be interesting to see where EV sales – both in China, and globally – land in 2025. Will U.S. tariffs, and broader economic uncertainty pull the plug on these vehicles, or will drivers flock to electrics as a cleaner alternative? We only have to wait about nine more months to find out.
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