Global sales of new PHEVs continue to fall
16 June 2026
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) have endured a tough start to 2026. Sales of new models fell year on year in January, February, March and April. But how have individual models fared? Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus explores data from EV Volumes.
In total, 445,290 new PHEVs were sold globally in April, an 18.7% year-on-year drop, illustrating a difficult start to 2026. The powertrain recorded an 18.4% drop across the first four months of 2026, with 1,647,988 deliveries made.
This contrasts with battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales, which have rebounded after declines in January and February. In April, 1,145,015 BEVs were sold, up 13.6% on the same month in 2025. That lifted the cumulative all-electric result into positive territory, rising 2.5% to 3,843,575 units.
China weighs on PHEV market
The Chinese new-car market was once again the major driver of the global PHEV market. Between January and April, 53.5% of all new PHEV sales took place in the country. But deliveries in China dropped by 35.5% compared with the first four months of 2025.
For a sense of perspective, Germany saw the second-largest volume of PHEV sales, accounting for 6.3% of the powertrain’s deliveries. So, while deliveries of the powertrain increased by 18% in the country, this did little to make up for the drop in China.
Even PHEV sales growth of 49.8%, 106.6% and 68.4% in the UK, Italy and Spain, respectively, could not compensate for the loss recorded in China. However, it appears the global new BEV market was not impacted in the same way.
While China still accounted for most sales, with a share of 45.6%, its 18.1% downturn was somewhat offset. The likes of Germany, the UK and France recorded strong growth in new BEV sales. More positive results like these even made up for a 25.5% sales decline in the US.
PHEV trend persists
The declining sales trend echoed among the world’s best-selling PHEVs. The BYD Song Pro took a market share of 3.7% in the first four months of the year with 60,249 deliveries. However, it experienced a 10.8% decline in sales in April, down to 17,185 units.
The BYD Song Plus, also known as the Seal U, saw a steeper decline of 57.8% in the month, down to 15,267 units. It followed closely behind the Song Pro in the cumulative table, with a 3.6% share and 58,649 sales.
Across the first four months of 2026, the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 ranked third with a 3.4% share and 55,605 units sold. It also held this position in April, with 12,916 deliveries accounting for 2.9% of the market.
Two more BYD models followed in both the monthly and cumulative tables. The BYD Seal 6 took fourth with 35,605 deliveries, while the BYD Qin Plus came fifth with 33,039 units. Both saw sizeable sales slumps in April. The Seal 6 was down by 30%, while the Qin Plus dropped by 48.8%.
Not all doom and gloom
First seeing sales in September last year, the Zeekr 9X moved 9,314 units in April. This put it in sixth with a 2.1% share. Meanwhile, across the first four months of 2026, it took eighth with 1.9%.
The Galaxy Starship 7, also known as the Starray, saw its deliveries drop by 34.2% in April. Its 7,316 units equated to a share of 1.6%. This result means it was 10th in the cumulative table with a 1.5% share and 24,590 sales.
The Aito M7 was ahead of it in seventh with 31,539 sales and a 1.9% slice of the market. This was bolstered by 6,549 deliveries in April, up 62.7% year on year.
This growth was only surpassed in the top 10 by the Jaecoo J7. Taking ninth in April, its sales grew by 97.3% to 6,250 units. With strong results so far this year, it came sixth in the cumulative table with 32,170 sales.
Following behind it in April was the BYD Yuan Up, also known as the Atto 2. However, its 5,888 sales could not help it break into the top 10 across the first four months of 2026. Instead, the Li Auto L6 took ninth in the cumulative ranking with 24,895 deliveries.
Unshakable Tesla?
Taking first place in both the BEV monthly and cumulative tables was the Tesla Model Y. It enjoyed a 29.6% increase in deliveries in April and a 6.2% share of the market. The 70,607 units contributed to the 311,184 sales recorded across the first four months of 2026 and an 8.1% share.
Its sibling, the Tesla Model 3, followed some way behind with a 3.3% hold on the market and 125,168 sales. It was further down the monthly table, suffering a 4.6% delivery decline in fifth. These 23,516 sales gave it a 2.1% market share in April.
Its closest rival, the Geely Geome Xingyuan, also known as the EX2, came second in the monthly table. Sales rose 17.2% to 42,495 units, meaning 3.7% of the market. This bolstered its cumulative result of a 2.8% share and 107,275 units, putting it third.
In third during the month was the Xiaomi SU7. Its 26,826 new sales were down 6.3% year on year as it took 2.3% of the global BEV market. However, it did not appear in the cumulative top 10.
Coming fourth in April and across the first four months of the year was the BYD Seagull, also known as the Dolphin Surf. However, it saw its sales fall by 37.9% to 23,642 units, giving it a 2.1% share. This fell below its cumulative share of 2.4% with 90,905 units sold.
Newer arrivals claim positions
Not far behind was the Xiaomi YU7 with a 2.1% share and 81,803 deliveries. With 2% grip on the market and 77,907 sales, the Li Auto I6 was sixth cumulatively. It took eighth in the month with 20,986 sales, capturing a 1.8% share.
Taking seventh in the monthly and cumulative table with a 1.9% share was the BYD Yuan Up. Its deliveries jumped by 20.9% year on year to 21,473 units in April, pushing its tally to 71,973.
Claiming 1.8% of the global BEV market between January and April was the BYD Dolphin in eighth. In April it reached sixth with 21,643 sales, up 49.8%, and taking a 1.9% share.
Behind it was the BYD Sealion 06 with 17,438 sales and 1.5% of the market. Then, in 10th was the Qiyuan Q05 with 13,763 units moved, capturing a 1.2% share. Despite these performances, neither model was able to break into the cumulative table.
Instead, the Nio ES8, also known as the EL8, took ninth between January and April. It recorded 61,098 sales and a 1.6% share. Then came the Toyota bZ4X with 1.2% and 44,957 deliveries. It will need a positive result in the coming months to stay ahead of the BYD Yuan Plus with 40,121 units sold.
