BYD stays ahead of its competitors in Chinese EV market
16 September 2024
BYD led the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market between January and July, but which carmakers followed in its wake? José Pontes, data director at EV Volumes, examines the best sellers with Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus.
Breaking down EV sales by brands in China, BYD claimed a market share of 31.4% between January and July. This was an increase of 0.6 percentage points (pp) from the first seven months of 2024. In a distant second, Tesla lost its grip on the market slightly. Its share fell by 0.3pp to 6.5%.
Li Auto was the third biggest brand in terms of market share between January and July. Enjoying the success of its L6 model, the carmaker gained 0.1pp to represent 4.7% of EV sales in China. Wuling followed closely behind with a 4.7% hold on the market. This was up 0.1pp from the first six months of the year.
Finishing fifth, Aito represented 4.4% of all plug-in model sales in the country. In sixth place, Geely benefitted from the progress of its Galaxy L6 and L7 models as its market share climbed by 0.1pp to 4%.
BYD led by namesake brand
With brands and alliances gathered into OEM groups, BYD continued to lead the market between January and July. The manufacturer accounted for over a third (33.4%) of sales in the region in the first seven months of the year. This success can be attributed to the strong performance of its namesake brand.
However, other brands in the giant’s stable appeared to struggle. Denza, Fang Cheng Bao, and Yangwang encountered difficulties and were unable to help boost the OEM’s margins. Even so, BYD’s control over the Chinese EV market looks assured.
Geely–Volvo was a distant runner-up with a 7.8% share, down by 0.1pp since June’s report. This followed a slow month for some of the OEM’s brands, such as Zeekr.
SAIC’s share falls
In third place, single-brand Tesla saw its hold on the market drop by 0.3pp to 6.5%. However, Tesla maintained its top-three position as SAIC’s share fell even further, by 0.5pp to 6.5%. SAIC’s market position appeared fragile with its foreign partners, GM and VW, in trouble. The group seems reliant on its own brands to stay afloat in the overall market.
For example, MG saw sales drop by 49% and Maxus was down by 44%. SAIC’s new premium brand, IM Motors, did record 6,000 deliveries in July. While this was a year-on-year increase of 249%, it barely improved the group’s figures.
Taking joint fourth in the OEM table, Changan saw its share shrink by 0.2pp to 6.2%. However, with SAIC struggling, the Chongqing-based company can be expected to climb up to fourth place in the coming months.
Want to know which models took the Chinese EV market by storm in July and the first seven months of the year? Read the first part of this report on Autovista24.
