More than 3.2 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered globally during the first quarter of 2024, which is about 25% more than a year earlier.
Today, we will examine the largest manufacturers (automotive groups or OEMs) of rechargeable cars. According to EV-Volumes data shared by researcher Jose Pontes, five groups continue to be responsible for more than half of all plug-in car sales.
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Two companies control a third of the market
Two companies—Tesla and BYD—control roughly one-third of the plug-in car market. The top five companies are responsible for more than half of all rechargeable car sales.
First, we will check out the volume and share of the top groups in the overall plug-in market, followed by the battery-electric segment. The sales results of particular brands and models for March and Q1 2024 can be found here.
Plug-ins (EVs + PHEVs)
The plug-in category combines battery electric cars (EV) and plug-in hybrid cars (PHEV). The top five in 2023 include BYD Group, Tesla, Geely-Volvo, SAIC and Volkswagen Group.
Those five groups account for over 1.65 million rechargeable car registrations (up 14% year-over-year). Their share in the segment decreased to 51.6% (from 56.8% in Q1 2023). This leaves over 1.55 million units (up 40%) and a 48.4% share for the rest of the industry. It seems that the top five is losing some steam.
BYD remains the largest group, with over 624,000 units registered and a 19.4% share (down from 21.3% a year ago).
Tesla maintains its second-place position (offering only all-electric cars), with more than 386,000 units sold and a 12% share (down from 16.5% a year ago). Together, BYD and Tesla represent 31.4% of the total plug-in market (down from 37.8% a year ago).
The next three largest groups are the quickly growing Geely-Volvo, Volkswagen Group, which lost one position, and SAIC.
Other OEMs have below a five percent share: Stellantis (4.3%), Changan (4.0%), BMW Group (3.8%) and Hyundai Motor Group (3.5%).
Plug-in car registrations in Q1 2024 (vs. previous year):
- BYD Group: 624,398 and 19.4% share (vs. 21.3%)
- Tesla: 386,825 and 12% share (vs. 16.5%)
- Geely-Volvo: 251,106 and 7.8% share (vs. 6.1%)
- Volkswagen Group: 205,652 and 6.4% share (vs. 7.4%)
- SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 190,409 and 5.9% share (vs. 5.5%)
Top 5 total: 1,658,390 and 51.6% share
Others: 1,557,976 and 48.4% share
Total: 3,216,366
Battery-Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Regarding all-electric car registrations, the EV-focused Tesla is the top manufacturer (no change here). The company noted over 386,000 registrations, although its share in the EV segment decreased to 19.0% (compared to 23.6% a year ago).
BYD, which is second best, noted over 300,000 units and a 14.8% share in the EV segment (stable compared to Q1 2023). Together, the two manufacturers represent 33.8% of the EV segment (compared to 38.3% a year ago). We have compared Tesla's and BYD's EV sales here.
The next two largest manufacturers of all-electric cars were Geely-Volvo and SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling), which both noted over 149,000 units. However, only Geely-Volvo is growing much faster (by 47% year-over-year) than the industry average of roughly 10%.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group is barely growing and losing market share and two positions. It might not be able to return to the podium this year.
All-electric car registrations in Q1 2024 (vs. previous year):
- Tesla: 386,825 and 19% share (vs. 23.6%)
- BYD Group: 300,124 and 14.8% share (vs. 14.7%)
- Geely-Volvo: 149,647 and 7.4% share (vs. 5.7%)
- SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 149,290 and 7.3% share (vs. 7.4%)
- Volkswagen Group: 136,949 and 6.7% share (vs. 7.5%)
Top 5 total: 1,122,835 and 55.2% share
Others: 911,165 and 44.8% share
Total: 2,034,000 (estimated)
