China's Plug-In Car Sales Increased To 44% Market Share In April 2024

Plug-in electric car sales in China continued to increase at a solid rate in April, allowing the market share to increase significantly.

According to EV Volumes' data, shared by researcher Jose Pontes, almost 704,000 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China in April. That's about 30% more than a year ago, while the market share amounted to 44%, compared to 35% in April 2023.

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Plug-in car sales surges in China

The Chinese plug-in electric car market is not only the largest one in the world, but it also represents the majority of global plug-in car sales. The share of rechargeable cars in China in 2023 amounted to 37% (compared to 30% in 2022). So far in 2024, it's 40%.

In April, all-electric car registrations increased by 10% year over year to roughly 415,000, representing about 26% of the country's total volume and 59% of all plug-ins.

The main force of growth is the plug-in hybrids, which expanded 65% year-over-year to roughly 290,000.

Plug-in car registrations for the month (YOY change):

• BEVs: about *415,000 (up 10%) and 26% market share
• PHEVs: about *289,000 (up 65%) and 18% market share
• Total: 703,788 (up 30%) and 44% market share

* estimated from the market share

Plug-in electric car sales in China – April 2024

During the first four months of the year, more than 2.5 million new plug-in electric cars were registered in China (up roughly 32% year-over-year). That's about 40% of the total car market.

Plug-in car registrations January-April (YOY change):

• BEVs: about *1.65 million and 26% market share
• PHEVs: about *0.89 million and 14% market share
• Total: 2,539,118 (up 32%) and 40% market share

* estimated from the market share

For reference, in 2023, more than 8 million new plug-in electric cars were registered in China (46% more than in 2022), which was about 37% of the total volume (compared to 30% in 2022, 15% in 2021, and 6.3% in 2020).

As we wrote previously, considering the year's strong start, 2024 should be even better, most likely above 10 million units.

BYD Seagull

Tesla Model Y

Model rank

The top-selling cars in China are plug-ins—BYD Song family (54,300), BYD Qin Plus family (46,314), BYD Seagull (28,797), and Tesla Model Y (26,356). The first non-rechargeable nameplate is the Nissan Sylphy with 24,270 units in April.

One of the most interesting things is that the Tesla Model Y wasn't the best-selling all-electric model last month. The BYD Seagull was and it might be a turning point after a few years of Tesla doination.

Top 10 plug-ins in April:

1. BYD Song: 54,300 (8,403 BEVs + 45,897 PHEVs)
2. BYD Qin Plus: 46,314 (15,479 BEVs + 30,835 PHEVs)
3. BYD Seagull: 28,797
4. Tesla Model Y: 26,356
5. BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3): 23,327
6. BYD Han: 20,535 (8,859 BEVs + 11,676 PHEVs)
7. BYD Destroyer 05 (PHEV): 20,363
8. Aito M9: 15,139 (2,030 BEVs + 13,109 PHEVs)
9. Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 12,445
10. Aion S: 11,889

After the first four months, the BYD Song family and the BYD Qin family extended their advantage over others while the distance between the Tesla Model Y and the BYD Seagull slightly decreased.

Top 10 plug-ins in January-April:

1. BYD Song: 191,220 (28,806 BEVs + 162,414 PHEVs)
2. BYD Qin Plus: 153,803 (40,612 BEVs + 113,191 PHEVs)
3. Tesla Model Y: 126,722
4. BYD Seagull: 99,116
5. Aito M7 (EREV): 78,858
6. BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3): 70,319
7. BYD Han: 58,129 (20,204 BEVs + 37,925 PHEVs)
8. Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV: 56,660
9. BYD Destroyer 05 (PHEV): 52,519
10. BYD Dolphin: 48,266

* BEV and PHEV versions of the same models were counted together in the source.

Brands

BYD continues to dominate the Chinese plug-in market, with a 29.8% share in the plug-in car segment (31.9% when including its satellite brands), which is not expected to change soon.

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Top brands by share in the plug-in segment in January-April:

• BYD: 29.8%
• Tesla: 6.5%
• SAIC-GM-Wuling: 5.3%
• Geely: 4.6%
• Aito: 4.4%
• Li Auto: 4.2%

Top automotive groups by share in the plug-in segment in January-April:

• BYD: 31.9%
  including Denza, Fang Cheng Bao and Yangwang brands
• Geely-Volvo: 8.4%
• SAIC: 8.0%
  including the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM, and Liuzhou Wuling Motors)
• Tesla: 6.5%
• Changan: 6.5%

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See also

Gen Z Americans Are Much More Open To Chinese EVs Than You Think: Study

The Electric Car Tariff Battle With China Kicks Off August 1

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