Plug-in electric car sales in China continue to increase, and March brought another solid result, indicating that electrification is going mainstream.
According to EV Volumes' data, shared by Jose Pontes, some 563,334 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China in March, which is 23 percent more than a year ago.
More importantly, the market share of rechargeable cars improved to 34 percent, so more than one-third of the total volume.
Even more impressive is that all-electric cars represent 24 percent of the total number of new registrations, so almost one in four.
Results for the month:
- BEVs: *398,000 and 24% share
- PHEVs: *166,000 and 10% share
- Total: 563,334 (up 23% year-over-year) and 34% share
* estimated from the market share
Plug-in electric car sales in China – March 2023
So far this year, more than 1.36 million new plug-in electric cars were registered in China (up roughly 22 percent year-over-year), which is about 33 percent of the total volume.
Results year-to-date:
- BEVs: about *0.91 million and 22% share
- PHEVs: about *0.46 million and 11% share
- Total: 1,368,677 (up 22% year-over-year) and 33% share
* estimated from the market share
For reference, in 2022, over 5.92 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China (83 percent more than in 2021).
Model rank
One of the most interesting findings is that the list of the 10 most registered cars in China was dominated by plug-ins in April, with the Tesla Model Y at the top (for the third time ever, thanks to 54,937 registrations).
Then we can see four BYD models (Qin Plus family, Song family, Yuan Plus, and Dolphin) and only two conventional models (Volkswagen Lavida #7 and Nissan Sylphy #8). This is a major shift when plug-ins and, specifically, all-electric models are selling better than internal combustion engine cars in China.
Top 10 plug-ins for the month:
- Tesla Model Y: 54,937
- BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV): 40,215
- BYD Song Plus (BEVs + PHEVs): 40,114
- BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3) BEV: 27,907
- BYD Dolphin: 27,687
- GAC Aion S: 26,392
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 23,159
- Tesla Model 3: 21,726
- BYD Han (BEV + PHEV): 13,834
- GAC Aion Y: 13,267
After the first three months, the BYD Song Plus remains at the top with a huge advantage over other models, but it's no longer the best-selling one.
Top 10 plug-ins year-to-date:
- BYD Song Plus (BEVs + PHEVs): 142,379
- Tesla Model Y: 94,647
- BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV): 79,239
- BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3) BEV: 72,683
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 69,842
- BYD Dolphin: 67,658
- GAC Aion S: 48,310
- Tesla Model 3: 42,782
- BYD Han (BEV + PHEV): 38,314
- BYD Tang (BEV + PHEV): 32,873
* BEV and PHEV versions of the same models were counted together in the source.
Brands
BYD is the most popular brand and automotive group in China, although, after March, its advantage slightly decreased. Meanwhile, Tesla surged and now occupies the second position.
Top brands by share in the plug-in segment year-to-date:
- BYD: 36.4%
- Tesla: 10.0%
- SAIC-GM-Wuling: 5.9%
- GAC Aion: 5.9%
- Changan: 4.5%
- Li Auto: 3.9%
Top automotive groups by share in the plug-in segment year-to-date:
- BYD: 38.1%
including Denza brand - Tesla: 10.0%
- SAIC: 7.8%
including SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM and Liuzhou Wuling Motors) - GAC: 6.1%
- Geely-Volvo: 5.0%
- Changan: 4.8%
