Plug-in electric car sales in China in October increased by some 113% year-over-year to the second highest monthly result ever - over 325,000.
Since the overall automotive market is down 5% year-over-year, plug-ins quickly expand their market share to 16%, including 13% for all-electric cars and 3% for PHEVs.
See more reports about plug-in vehicle sales in China here.
With the strong momentum, and the recent record in September, we should see new highs in November and December.
Plug-in electric car sales in China – October 2021

So far this year, over 2.3 million passenger plug-in cars were sold in China, which is 13.7% of the total market. BEV share stands at 11.1%.
Taking into consideration that the final months were usually the strongest in the past, the country is on a trajectory to exceed 3 million units in 2021 (significantly more than 1.27 million in 2020).
Model rank
While the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV (over 39,000 according to EV-volumes) remains the most popular EV in China, October was actually a big win for BYD, which has put four models in the top six. The company reports a total of 80,000 units. Tesla was focused mostly on export so only a small number, out of 54,000 cars, were sold in China.
Overall, many models have set its monthly records.
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV - 39,128
- BYD Qin Plus PHEV - 17,503
- Tesla Model Y - 13,303
- BYD Song Pro/Plus PHEV - 11,316
- BYD Qin Plus EV - 8,405
- BYD Han (BEV) - 8,287
- GAC Aion S - 8,020
- Great Wall Ora Good Cat - 7,845
- Li Xiang One EREV - 7,649
- Volkswagen ID.4 - 7,430
Year-to-date results are very interesting as well as it seems that the Tesla Model Y soon will pass the Model 3. Behind them, a huge wave of Chinese plug-ins is rising.
- Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV - 328,001
- Tesla Model 3 - 112,297
- Tesla Model Y - 106,236
- BYD Qin Plus PHEV - 76,213
- BYD Han (BEV) - 66,538
- Li Xiang One EREV - 62,919
- Changan Benni EV - 59,556
- GAC Aion S - 56,891
- Chery eQ - 51,459
- Great Wall Ora Black Cat - 51,166
BYD has expanded its year-to-date market share in the plug-in segment to 18%. It's followed by SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM and Liuzhou Wuling Motors) - 15% and Tesla - 10%.