BYD strengthens brand lead in China’s new-car market
05 December 2024
In its domestic electric vehicle (EV) market, BYD strengthened its hold in October, leading other brands in a dominant fashion. Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry explores the latest figures from EV Volumes.
China’s EV market, made up of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), saw strong growth in October. The market improved by 53.5% in the month, with over 1.23 million registrations, according to data provided by EV Volumes.
The BEV market led this increase in terms of volume, while the PHEV sector enjoyed the best delivery growth.
Between January and October, China saw EV registrations improve by 37.8%, with more than 8.59 million models taking to the country’s roads. The market is becoming more balanced, with closer competition between some brands, and more evenly-distributed shares of the market. However, there is still one company running away from the rest.
BYD’s market domination
BYD dominated its domestic market in October. The brand increased its registrations by 57.4% compared to the same period last year, with 426,945 deliveries. This was driven by its performance in the PHEV market, where it took seven of the top 10 spots, with these models contributing over 240,000 units alone.
Wuling also enjoyed an impressive month, with deliveries increasing by 70.9% to a total of 79,151 units. This was helped by its Mini and Bingo models in the BEV market, with a combined total of 58,291 registrations.
Rounding out the top three in October was Li Auto, with 51,443 deliveries in the Chinese market. This was an improvement of 27.3% year on year. Over half of this total came from its L6 extended range electric vehicle (EREV), which impressed in just its seventh month on the market.
Meanwhile, Tesla had its worst month since April, with 40,595 units placing the carmaker in fourth. This was still 41.3% better than the brand’s tally in October 2023. Tesla delivers most of its vehicles at the end of each quarter. This means the following month is often weaker, as it picks up the pace once again.
The US carmaker had the Model Y to thank for its performance, with the crossover taking second in the BEV market. The Model 3 had a poor month, with just 4,281 deliveries.
Completing the top half of the table was Leapmotor, with 36,086 units in fifth position. This was a 98.2% improvement compared to the same month last year, and a record month for the brand.
Close battles
In sixth position was Chery, with the brand’s 35,887 registrations representing a remarkable growth of 204.5%. October was the Chinese carmaker’s best-ever month in its domestic market.
Just under 3,000 units covered positions seven to 10 in the monthly brands table, as competition between each carmaker intensified.
Leading this group was Aito, with 34,058 units giving it seventh spot. This was a 166.2% improvement on October 2023. The brand entered the Chinese market in December 2021 and has spent time ramping-up sales of its models, including the M7 and M9 BEVs.
Behind in eighth, with 32,048 units, was Geely. This performance represented a 137% increase year on year. October marked the carmaker’s best-ever month, surpassing its previous best of 19,747 units in September with ease.
Just 123 units behind came Aion, which ended the month with 31,925 registrations. The carmaker was the only one of the top 10 to see deliveries decline year-on-year, with a 22.8% drop extending a run of nine months without growth.
A further 770 units back was Galaxy, rounding out the top 10. The marque ended the month with 31,155 units taking to Chinese roads, a 127.2% improvement over October 2023. This was also a record result for the carmaker, which has seen deliveries ramp up across the course of this year.
BYD out in front
Across the first 10 months of the year, BYD has dwarfed its competition. Its total of around 2.76 million units is 28% higher than it achieved in the EV market during the same period in 2023.
However, its 32.1% market share, while almost a third of total EV deliveries, is down from the 34.6% recorded from January to October last year, as the competition increases.
Tesla maintained second position in the year-to-date table, despite a slower month in October. Its tally of 502,151 units is 7% more than it achieved in the first 10 months of 2023. This equated to a 5.8% market share, down from 7.5% recorded in the same period last year.
Taking third place across the first 10 months of the year was Wuling, building on its success throughout the year. Its performance in October allowed the brand to put some distance between itself and fourth place, with 446,752 units delivered so far in 2024.
Wuling is currently 40% up on figures from the same time last year, with its 5.2% EV market share up 0.1 percentage point (pp) from 2023.
Li Auto held on to fourth spot, with 393,728 units delivered. This represents a 38.3% rise compared to the first 10 months of last year, with its 4.6% market share replicating its performance in the same period.
Contrasting fortunes
Rounding out the top five was Aito, with 324,310 registrations. The brand has had a notable year so far, bolstered by the performance of its M7 and M9 in the PHEV market.
At the same point in 2023, Aito’s sales were less than half of what the M9 alone has achieved across this year. This gave the marque a 501.9% increase in the year to date, while a 3.8% market share is up from the 0.9% it achieved last year.
In contrast, Aion was the only brand in the top 10 to suffer a year-on-year decline, with deliveries down 27.2% between January and October. It registered a total of 291,925 units in sixth.
At the same point in 2023, the brand was third, behind only BYD and Tesla. Its market share fell from 6.4% a year prior, to 3.4%. Due to the close nature of the Chinese market, it is likely to end the year in sixth position.
Seventh spot went to Leapmotor, with 205,817 registrations in the first 10 months of 2024. This is a 90.5% improvement compared to the same period last year. The manufacturer accounted for 2.4% of deliveries from January to October, an improvement of 0.7pp year-on-year.
Chery sat in eighth place with 195,859 registrations, up by 136.2%. It took a 2.3% share in the year to date, an increase of 1pp.
In ninth was Galaxy, the Geely-owned brand recording 184,747 deliveries in the 10-month period. This was an improvement of 220.5%. Its market share of 2.1% showed good growth against the 0.9% recorded in the same period last year.
Taking 10th position was Changan. Its tally of 183,578 units was 14.3% higher compared to last year. The brand did see its market share slip to 2.1%, from the 2.6% recorded between January and October 2023.
