December saw a new record for plug-in electric car sales in China, making it the fifth consecutive month of growth and pushing the annual result to a remarkable level.
Data from EV Volumes reported by researcher Jose Pontes reveals that 980,737 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China in December, a 46% increase from the previous year.
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Plug-in car sales surges in China
The Chinese plug-in electric car market is the largest in the world and dominates the global plug-in car sales, accounting for 37% of all sales in 2023, an increase from 30% in 2022.
Additionally, all-electric car registrations totaled approximately 618,000, a 31% year-over-year increase.
December also saw a record 362,000 plug-in hybrids registered, an 80% increase from the previous year, attributed to the introduction of new models equipped with larger batteries, around 40 kilowatt-hours.
Breakdown of plug-in car registrations for December:
- BEVs: approximately 618,000 (up 31%)
- PHEVs: approximately 362,000 (up about 80%)
- Total: 980,737 (up 46%)
The year 2023 saw more than 8 million new plug-in electric cars registered in China, marking a 46% year-over-year increase and representing 37% of the total volume, compared to 30% in 2022, 15% in 2021, and 6.3% in 2020.
Furthermore, all-electric cars alone accounted for approximately 25% of the market, whereas plug-in hybrids saw their market share increase to 12% in 2023.
Plug-in car registrations in 2023 (YOY change):
- BEVs: approximately 5.34 million and 25% market share
- PHEVs: approximately 2.75 million and 12% market share
- Total: 8,095,078 (up 37%) and 37% market share
For comparison, in 2022, over 5.92 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China, accounting for 30% of the total volume.
Growth is anticipated to continue in 2024, although not as rapidly, with a projected target of 10,000,000 sales for the year.
Additionally, in December, the top-selling plug-in electric car (and the top-selling car overall) was the BYD Song family, with 72,182 new registrations, followed by the Tesla Model Y with over 60,000 units, and several other BYD models.
Top 10 plug-ins in December:
- BYD Song Plus: 72,182 (14,011 BEVs + 58,171 PHEVs)
- Tesla Model Y: 60,055
- BYD Qin Plus: 41,142 (11,963 BEVs + 29,179 PHEVs)
- BYD Seagull: 41,012
- BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3): 30,799
- Wuling Bingo: 27,458
- BYD Dolphin: 26,814
- Aito M7 EREV: 25,545
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 25,015
- GAC Aion Y: 22,678
For the full year of 2023, the BYD Song Plus family took the top spot with 627,731 registrations, followed by the Tesla Model Y with 456,394 registrations, and the BYD Qin Plus family with 434,910 registrations.
Top 10 plug-ins for January-December:
- BYD Song Plus: 627,731 (92,983 BEVs + 534,748 PHEVs)
- Tesla Model Y: 456,394
- BYD Qin Plus: 434,910 (123,170 BEVs + 311,740 PHEVs)
- BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3): 338,490
- BYD Dolphin: 334,800
- BYD Seagull: 253,664
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 237,878
- GAC Aion Y: 235,717
- BYD Han: 227,705 (106,904 BEVs + 120,801 PHEVs)
- GAC Aion S: 220,904
* BEV and PHEV versions of the same models were counted together in the source.
It’s worth noting that besides the Tesla Model Y, no other foreign EVs were able to break into the top 20 in China for the year 2023.
With a dominating 33.8% share in the plug-in car segment, BYD continues to lead the market and remains the best-selling car brand in China for 2023.
Top brands by share in the plug-in segment for January-December:
- BYD: 33.8%
- Tesla: 7.5%
- GAC Aion: 6.0%
- SAIC-GM-Wuling: 5.8%
- Li Auto: 4.7%
- Changan: 4.3%
- Geely: 4.1%
Top automotive groups by share in the plug-in segment for January-December:
- BYD: 35.5%
including Denza, Fang Cheng Bao and Yangwang brands - SAIC: 7.5%
- Tesla: 7.5%
including the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors) - Geely-Volvo: 7.1%
- GAC: 6.5%
- Changan: 4.8%
- Li Auto: 4.7%