52% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China — March 2025 Sales Report

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Last Updated on: 26th April 2025, 01:41 am

BEVs represented over a third of the total Chinese car market in March.

March signals the end of the low season in the Chinese EV market — due to the timing of the New Year celebrations. This year, plugins scored almost a million units in the last month of the quarter (in a 1.9-million-unit overall market). They had a 39% growth rate, a positive outcome in a total market that expanded 12% YoY, especially considering that ICE sales dropped some 76,000 units YoY in March.

ICE deliveries down, EV deliveries up — looking good….

Digging deeper into the numbers, BEVs were the fastest growing technology, going up by 51% to 646,000 units, while PHEVs grew 25% and EREVs grew 4%.

This pulls the year-to-date (YTD) tally to over 2.4 million units. So, we should see plugins end the year well above 10 million units. In China alone….

Share-wise, March saw plugin vehicles cross the 50% market share threshold, reaching 52%! Full electrics (BEVs) alone accounted for 34% of the country’s auto sales, while PHEVs had 27% share and EREVs 8%, making BEVs the best selling powertrain in China, above petrol vehicles and HEVs.

This good result in March pulled the 2025 share up by three percentage points, to 48%. BEVs alone also jumped by 3% share, to 30%. Expect to see plugins above 50% and BEVs at around 33% in the first half of the year.

(Could China finish the year above 60%?)

In the overall ranking, we are starting to see ICE models disappear from the table, with the best placed ICE nameplate showing up only in 9th.

For the first time in a while, the Tesla Model Y has beaten the BYD Song as the overall best seller, thanks to volume deliveries of the refreshed version, while behind these two, the tiny Wuling Mini EV won the bronze medal, thanks in no small part to the new 5-door version.

Sales of the little EV grew an amazing 149% YoY, to almost 40,000 units, its best result since October 2022. Will it be able to win best seller status soon?

Interestingly, there were representatives from five different brands in the top 6. A good sign of diversity for the future?

A note regarding the longtime best sellers of BYD, the Song and Qin Plus: The SUV was down 25% YoY while the sedan fell by 46% in March, being the only two models dropping in the top 10. With increased internal and external competition, it seems both are now in a declining trajectory, so we might have a new best selling model this year in China.

Another surprising performance was the Tesla Model 3, which grew 79% YoY thanks to an outstanding 26,000 deliveries. As a result, it managed to win a top 10 spot again, 8th, its highest standing in China since 2022! It seems Tesla’s incentives are indeed working….

Looking at the best sellers in several size categories, all but the C segment (compact cars) have plugins leading the way. In fact, the C segment was the only category where ICE vehicles managed to place two representatives, while in all other categories, they were the minority. This is a recurring topic, as it seems that the C segment is the hardest of all to convert into EVs. Looking at the bright side of this, it means that models like the Xpeng Mona M03 and Geely Galaxy E5 have plenty of room to grow….

The biggest surprises were the Wuling Mini EV beating the BYD Seagull in the city car category; and in the midsizers, the Tesla Model Y outselling the BYD Song.

Another topic to highlight is the domination that the Geely Xingyuan and Xiaomi SU7 are making in their respective categories, with the small hatchback and the sports sedan almost doubling the sales of their category runner-up models.

Here’s more info and commentary on March’s top selling electric models:

#1 — Tesla Model Y

The bread and butter model of the Tesla family is back in the game, thanks to volume deliveries of the refreshed version reaching 48,189 registrations last month, a 1% increase over the same month last year. If we had stayed on the old timeline, before the ironically called Liberation Day, I would now say that it is expected for the Model Y to have at least a quarter or two of 2024-like sales — with strong demand allowing it to challenge the aging BYD Song for the leadership spot. But, because we are on a different, more chaotic, timeline since that day, we might see Tesla start to also suffer in China as the increased tariffs start to bite local buyers and people get less inclined to buy US products. If this was to happen, then Tesla would lose its only major market where it is still experiencing growth. And that would be another nail in the coffin….

#2 — BYD Song (BEV+PHEV)

BYD’s midsize SUV lost its best seller status this time, scoring 46,939 registrations, a 25% drop YoY. Will the veteran model (six years is an eternity in China) continue to rule in the Chinese automotive market? Well, it seems that the competition, including internally, is starting to erode its sales. True, price is one of its key selling points, but that alone won’t be enough in an increasingly competitive market. BYD’s midsize SUV will need constant improvement if it wants to continue clocking 40,000–50,000 sales/month, a necessary threshold to continue leading the cutthroat Chinese auto market.

#3 — Wuling Mini EV 

The 2021 Best Selling EV in China is back in form, thanks to a refresh, and above all, a new 5-door version. This allowed the small city car to reach 39,957 registrations in March, more than doubling the result YoY and its best score since October 2022. So, it seems the tiny EV is back to its good old days, which makes you wonder … is 2025 the year that the Mini EV will win its second Best Seller trophy? With the price of the 5-door version starting at 45,000 CNY ($6,200), it continues to be one of the cheapest in its category. And this time it’s not too bare bones, as it has a 16 kWh LFP battery, supports DC charging, and includes stuff like air conditioning and remote control via mobile phone.

#4 — BYD Seagull

Things continue to go well for the hatchback model, with the small EV securing another top 5 presence thanks to 33,965 registrations. With part of production now being diverted to export markets (and landing in Europe in Q2 — for less than 20,000 euros), it seems demand for the little Lambo is now at cruising speed in China. The perky EV is now in podium territory. Even with its attention now diverted to other geographies, like Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and soon Europe, expect the little BYD to continue being part of the BYD pack that populates the Chinese top 10.

#5 — Geely Geome Xingyuan

A BYD Dolphin for BYD Seagull money. At least, that’s how Geely’s internal memo might have described the Geome Xingyuan when developing its latest hatchback. And with an interesting name, as Xingyuan translates as “wishing upon a star,” is Geely wishing on a star to take BYD’s leadership position? Well, that’s what the Xingyuan did in the B-class category. It obliterated BYD’s models as well as the rest of the competition. What does this hatchback have that makes it so special? Besides all the support that comes from a leading OEM like Geely, it has a rounded, sensible design, somewhere between a Wuling Bingo and a Smart #3. Starting with an 80,000 CNY (+/-$11,000) price, the buyer gets a 30 kWh LFP battery from CATL, which is nothing to write home about until you realise that its price places it closer to the BYD Seagull (70,000 CNY for the 30 kWh version) than the BYD Dolphin (100,000 CNY). In March, the Geely model hit a record 32,481 registrations, its second record score in a row.

Looking at the rest of the best seller table, the highlight is the Xiaomi SU7. Despite missing out on a top 5 presence, it was 6th, and it was still the best selling sedan in China — all powertrains included — thanks to a record 29,244 units, an amazing feat considering that the sports sedan has been on the market for 11 months. Despite constant production output increases, it still has a 6-month-plus waiting list. Like all disruptive models, it seems people just can’t get enough of it.

Now, about that Xiaomi YU7….

Another sedan liftback to shine was Xpeng’s Mona M03. Thanks to 16,593 registrations, it has beaten its personal best for the second month in a row. Considering the current weakness of the EV team in the C-class category, I am rooting for the startup model to rise even further in the charts, so that we can remove those pesky ICE models from the compact category leadership platform. Will it be able to run at 20,000 units per month?

Outside the top 20, there is much to talk about, with the highlights being the record results of the Qiyuan (aka Nevo) A07 (7,078 units) and Geely Galaxy L6 (8,027 units) midsize sedans. In the BYD stable, the Seal 06 GT is starting to show up on the radar, thanks to a record 7,755 deliveries. This last result in particular is encouraging, as the GT hatchback’s main job is to win over export markets, but it wouldn’t hurt if it could also succeed in China….

Finally, a mention goes out to two important landings in March. The Leapmotor B10 debuted with a strong 3,298-unit score, indicating that the value-for-money focussed startup has another winner on its hands. Toyota launched its new BZ3X compact crossover, as the Japanese carmaker looks to make up on lost time in China. Related to GAC’s Aion V, Toyota hopes it can be successful where others have failed (yes, you, Toyota BZ3). With 2,490 units as a starting point, it had a promising debut, but the jury is still out there over if this is a sustainable level of sales.

The 20 Best Selling Electric Vehicles in China — January–March 2024

Looking at the 2025 ranking, the leading BYD Song is above the competition, but below it, there is a lot to talk about.

Benefitting from the launch of the refreshed version, the Tesla Model Y jumped three positions, to 4th, getting close to the #2 Geely Xingyuan and #3 Wuling Mini EV.

If times were normal, this would be a good start for the Model Y to recover its runner-up status and maybe even challenge the BYD Song for best seller status, but, like previously mentioned, we’ve jumped into an alternative timeline, one where Tesla will probably be hurt by an increased anti-American sentiment. This even makes it possible the Model Y will fail to reach the Chinese podium this year.

That would be a truly disruptive event, because Tesla has been represented on the Chinese EV podium consistently since 2019.

You had a good 5 years, Tesla….

The same can be said about the Tesla Model 3, which jumped into 9th in March. If things turn sour for Tesla in China, then not even the 14th spot of 2024 seems possible.

In the second half of the table, there were a few minor movements, with both the Li Xiang L6 and BYD Seal 06 climbing one position, to 11th and 12th, respectively, all while the Changan Lumin and BYD Yuan Up joined the table in #19 and #20, respectively.

This allowed BYD to have nine representatives on the table, and city cars to have four representatives in the top 20. And all of them would be welcome in Europe. Just sayin’….

Looking at the overall manufacturer ranking, Geely is still hanging on to the 2nd spot. It is the fastest growing make in the top 10, with a 78% growth rate, all while foreign representatives are barely growing in the best of cases (Toyota is +5% YoY) or falling from a cliff in the worst of cases (Honda is -33% YoY).

Regarding position changes, Wuling surpassed Changan and is now 5th, while Tesla replaced BMW in the 10th position.

Outside this top 10, a mention goes out to Xpeng (+296 YoY — 86,000 units) and Leapmotor (+135% — 78,000 units), which continue with surging deliveries. Then there’s also Xiaomi, which had 76,000 registrations … despite having just one model on sale.

On the losers side, Dongfeng had another horrible month and is down 46% YoY. It’s no wonder Dongfeng is said to be bought by merging with Changan. After foreign legacy OEMs, apparently, now even Chinese legacy OEMs are starting to feel the walls closing in.

Auto Brands Selling the Most Electric Vehicles in China

Looking at the auto brand ranking, there’s some news, but not at the top. BYD (26.4%, up from 25.2%) remains as stable in its leadership position as ever.

Despite losing share, it is the same story with Geely (10.6%, down 1.1% in March), with the brand now standing firm in the runner-up position, which is a major improvement from the 5th spot it had in the same period last year.

Things get more interesting below, though. Wuling (5.6%, up from 5.1% in February) just managed to stay in the 3rd spot, sustaining itself against Tesla’s peak month in March (5.6% now vs 4.1% in February).

As mentioned before, because we are in an alternative timeline, where chaos and antagonism rules the US administration, Tesla’s task is now much harder than in the previous timeline, so I wouldn’t be surprised if, for the first time since 2019, Tesla couldn’t reach the podium of the Chinese EV manufacturers table at the end of the year.

Elsewhere, Li Auto (3.8%) surpassed Xpeng (3.6%, down 0.2%) and is back again in the 5th position, keeping #6 Xpeng and #7 Leapmotor (3.3%) in the rearview mirror.

Auto Groups Selling the Most Electric Vehicles in China

Looking at OEMs/automotive groups/alliances, BYD is comfortably leading, with 28.8% share of the market, while Geely is a distant runner-up, with 13.3% share.

Far from runner-up Geely, there was a position change in the 3rd position. Benefitting from the strong result of the Wuling Mini EV, SAIC (6.5%, up from 6% in February) surpassed Changan (6.5%) and is the new bronze medalist. Expect these two to continue competing for the last place on the podium in the upcoming months.

Tesla (5.6%) surpassed Chery (4.1%) and is the new 5th placed model, but because of the previously mentioned reasons, Tesla’s 2024 3rd spot in the OEM ranking now seems almost impossible to achieve, and it could even be the case that there will be no Tesla in this top 5 at the end of the year.