We already know the global passenger plug-in electric car sales numbers for the year 2021, so let's now take a look at the results achieved by the top automotive groups.
According to EV-Volumes data shared by Jose Pontes, out of almost 6.5 million plug-in electric cars sold in 2021, over half were produced and delivered by five automotive groups.
First, we will check the volume and share of the top OEMs in the overall plug-in market, and then in the battery-electric segment.
Plug-ins (BEV+PHEVs)
In the plug-in category, which combines all-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) cars, the top player remains the same as in 2018, 2019 and 2020 - Tesla. That is despite Tesla actually being a single brand and involved only in all-electric cars.
The report reveals that Tesla closed the year 2021 with over 936,000 sales, which is about 14.4% of the total. However, Tesla's market share in the plug-in segment decreased from 16% in 2020 and 17% in 2019.
Only time will tell whether Tesla will be able to expand its volume as quickly as the market is expanding in order to maintain its position and share. What we know for sure is that the company is prioritizing volume over new products, like the Tesla Cybertruck.
The next in line is the Volkswagen Group with almost 758,000 and a market share of 11.7%. This is also less than a year ago (13%), but significantly more than in 2019 (6%). Many expect that at some point, Volkswagen Group will catch up with Tesla.
Third place belongs to SAIC (in the report, combined with the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture), which holds over 10% share. Then we can see a great comeback by BYD in 2021 and Stellantis, which is now #5.
Plug-in car sales in Q1-Q4 2021 (vs previous year):
- Tesla: 936,172 and 14.4% share (vs 16%)
- Volkswagen Group: 757,994 and 11.7% share (vs 13%)
- SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 683,086 and 10.5% share
- BYD: 593,878 and 9.1% share
- Stellantis: 360,953 and 5.6% share
Top 5 total: 3,332,083 (51.3% share)
others: 3,163,305 (48.7% share)
Total: 6,495,388
Battery-electric only (BEV)
In terms of all-electric car sales, Tesla is still far ahead of other automotive groups with over 936,000. However, its market share decreased in the last few years, from 23% in 2019 and 2020 to 21% in 2021.
SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling) is the second largest group with almost 610,000 and 13% share - mostly thanks to the sales volume of 424,138 for the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV.
Then, we see the Volkswagen Group with 451,131 and 10% share in the BEV segment. BYD is fourth with a 7% share and Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai and Kia) secured fifth place with a 5% share.
All-electric car sales in Q1-Q4 2021 (vs previous year):
- Tesla: 936,172 and 21% share (vs 23%)
- SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 609,730 and 13% share
- Volkswagen Group: 451,131 and 10% share (vs 11%)
- BYD: 323,143 and 7% share
- Hyundai Motor Group: 216,562 and 5% share
Top 5 total: 2,536,738 (55% share)
others: over 2 million (45% share)
Total: over 4.6 million
See also our previous reports for automotive groups:
