Which automotive brands are leading the global EV market?
26 November 2024
Electric vehicle (EV) sales volumes reached new global heights in September, but which brands and carmakers were out in front? José Pontes, data director at EV Volumes, identifies the market leaders with Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus.
Combining battery-electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) figures, BYD emerged as the world’s leading EV brand in September. Thanks to its current pricing strategy, the marque sold a record 399,442 units in the month.
In second place, Tesla’s deliveries proved to be inconsistent. After an 11% decline in registrations during August, figures jumped by 24% in September to 191,430 deliveries. This was in line with its regular pattern of increased deliveries at the end of each quarter.
So far this year, the brand saw figures increase in January, May, July and September. Meanwhile, February, March, April, June, and August recorded slumps. However, Tesla can be expected to record growth in 2025 with the refresh of the Model Y and increased production of the Cybertruck.
Record-breaking brands
Below the top two, three Chinese brands set new records. Wuling took third with 68,605 registrations, ahead of Li Auto in fourth with 55,602 units. Geely claimed fifth with 53,358 deliveries, as its offering continues to expand. The production of the Galaxy E5 is accelerating, while the Galaxy Starship 7 waits in the pipeline.
Volkswagen (VW) had a good month with a new best for 2024, reaching 44,434 registrations. Alongside the ID.3 and ID.4, the new ID.7 hit a new record of around 5,600 deliveries.
In the second half of the top 20 table, four further Chinese brands hit new bests for 2024. In its second record performance in a row, 11th-place Leapmotor posted 32,988 deliveries. Chery had a good month, reaching 13th with 29,041 EV sales.
Meanwhile, in 17th, Zeekr delivered 21,718 units, and taking 19th position, XPeng hit a record 20,609 registrations. Its new Mona M03 represented half of its deliveries.
Big lead for BYD brand
Between January and September, BYD posted over double the number of registrations as second-place Tesla. However, the US brand recorded more than three times the number of EV deliveries as third-place BMW.
The German marque was focused on those behind it in September, with the gap to fourth-place Wuling at only 17,204 units. Despite losing a spot to Wuling, Li Auto also closed in on BMW during across first nine months of 2024. This could mean BMW ends 2024 in fifth, losing its third-place slot from 2023.
In sixth, VW felt the pressure of a rising Geely, which moved up to seventh. The Chinese brand could overtake the German brand by the end of 2024.
In the second half of the table, Toyota took 13th, benefitting from Audi’s bad month. The German marque needs to be less dependent on its Q4 e-Tron. The production of the new Q6 e-Tron and A6 e-Tron need to ramp up soon. Leapmotor profited from a record streak, allowing it to climb up the table to 17th.
Geely gains ground
Merging brands and alliances under OEM groupings, BYD gained a greater market share between January and September. Its price cuts and model launches allowed it to claim 23.4% of the global EV market. This was up from 23.2% in August’s report and the 21.9% share it recorded 12 months ago. Meanwhile, Tesla took an 11% share, down from 14% at the same point in 2023.
Third went to Geely–Volvo, with the carmaker taking a 7.9% share. The Chinese group progressed the most in the top five, up from 6.1% across the first nine months of 2023. This could result in it challenging Tesla in the second half of 2025.
Meanwhile, VW Group (5.9%) stayed in fourth with 5.9% of the EV market, as fifth-place SAIC closed in with a 5.3% share. Wuling’s positive month compensated for slower results from the rest of the carmaker’s brands.
With a 3.6% market share in sixth, BMW lost ground as seventh-place Changan pulled up 3,820 units behind the German OEM.
BYD challenges Tesla for BEV title
Tesla remained in charge of the global BEV market between January and September with a 17.5% share. However, this was down from 20.1% at the same point last year. Second-place BYD represented 16.2% of the global EV market, up from 15.9% one year ago.
With Tesla losing share, BYD could surpass it in the first half of 2025. This is unlikely to happen any sooner as the Chinese OEM is focusing on PHEVs.
In third, SAIC claimed a 7.9% share thanks to its Wuling brand, putting the OEM ahead of Geely-Volvo. However, the Chinese-Swiss group did see its market share rise to 7.8% thanks to positive results across its long lineup of brands.
VW Group was stable in fifth, holding 6.8% of the market. It is likely to remain there until the end of the year. Below the top five, BMW Group made up 4.2% of all BEV sales, followed by the Hyundai Motor Group in seventh with 4.1%.
