What were the best-selling EVs in China during 2024?
24 February 2025
China’s EV market ended 2024 strongly, as battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations improved, and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) deliveries soared. But which models led their respective markets? Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry examines the data.
The improvement in China’s PHEV market did not slow down at the end of 2024. While behind in volumes, the bridging technology’s growth highlighted a renewed focus on the powertrain, by brands and customers.
Across the 12 months, PHEV registrations grew 79.8% year on year according to the latest data from EV Volumes. A total of 4.86 million units were delivered to customers, up from 2.7 million a year prior. Meanwhile, BEV registrations achieved growth of 17.3%, as 6.34 million new models took to Chinese roads.
These totals were helped by strong performances in December. PHEVs improved by 60.6% with 576,678 registrations, equating to an improvement of 217,626 units. Meanwhile, BEVs were up 18.4% with 752,845 deliveries, representing an increase of 116,993 units.
While the BEV market is still dominant in terms of volume, the PHEV market will be the powertrain to watch in 2025.
BYD takes the top in 2024
BYD dominated the PHEV market, selling six of the top 10 models in the year. The brand locked out the top five, confirming the popularity of its varied plug-in hybrids within the growing market.
Leading the pack by some distance was the BYD Song. The model secured 594,950 registrations across the whole of 2024 and took a 12.2% market share. It was so successful that the 253,606-unit gap to second place exceeded the sales total recorded by the PHEV in third.
In second was the BYD Qin Plus, with 341,344 deliveries in 2024. This gave the model a 7% share of China’s PHEV market. The Qin L placed third, with 229,591 units over the 12-month period. This was enough for a 4.7% market share.
Continuing BYD’s domination, the Destroyer 05 took fourth. The model was close to the Qin L but ended the year with 214,282 registrations, short of third place by 15,309 deliveries. The result equated to a 4.4% market share.
Rounding out the top five was the BYD Seal 06, with 193,631 deliveries. This was a 4% market share and a gap of 20,651 to its brand sibling. BYD’s top five PHEVs achieved a combined 1.57 million registrations in 2024, with a market share of 32.4%.
Close call
BYD almost missed out on its top-five domination. The Seal 06 saw a surge in December, which meant it narrowly secured fifth. The PHEV gained one place from its year-to-date position in November, claiming its final position from the Aito M7. The BYD model was only made available in May 2024 and has done well to shoot up the table.
The Aito M7 missed out on the top half of the table by just 289 units. The M7 secured 193,342 registrations in 2024, to also hold a 4% market share. The Li Auto L6 was just 1,085 units behind in seventh. The model took 192,257 registrations and represented 4% of all deliveries.
Following in eighth place was the last BYD in the top 10, the Han. It came 13,490 units behind the Li Auto L6. The PHEV ended 2024 with a 3.7% market share and 178,767 registrations, 13,490 units behind the Li Auto L6.
Ninth went to Aito M9 with a 2.9% market share. It recorded 139,452 deliveries, 39,315 units behind the BYD Han. Finally, 10th went to the Li Auto L7, with 134,018 registrations, just 5,434 units behind the M9. This equated to a 2.8% share of all PHEV deliveries.
Dominance in December 2024
Just as in the full-year chart, BYD dominated the top 10 PHEV table in December. While seven of its models made the list, the marque did not lock out the top half in the month.
The BYD Song led the way again, with 59,637 registrations. This was an increase of 2.9% on its December 2023 total, giving it a 10.3% market share. Despite the improvement, this share was 5.8 percentage points (pp) down compared to 2023. The model now faces increased competition from rival PHEVs.
Second went to the BYD Qin Plus, with 30,522 deliveries, a 3.6% year-on-year improvement. This equated to a market share of 5.3%, down 2.9pp compared to the same period last year. Third was the BYD Qin L, with 30,062 registrations in its eighth month on the market. It accounted for 5.2% of overall registrations in the month.
The first of three non-BYD models in December’s top 10 landed in fourth place. The Li Auto L6 secured 27,769 deliveries in the month, its ninth on the market. This gave it a 4.8% market share.
Impressive performances
Securing fifth was the BYD Seal 06 with 26,711 units registered. This performance helped it take fifth in the full-year chart. The Seal 06 held 4.6% of the market in December.
The BYD Song L ended the month in sixth, with 22,464 deliveries and a 3.9% market share. This is the model’s sixth month on the market. The BYD Han took seventh with 22,427 units. This was an 81.7% improvement year on year, with a 3.9% market share, up 0.5pp.
Eighth place went to the Galaxy Starship 7, with 19,836 registrations in just its second month on the market. This was an impressive result, and parent company Geely will be hoping to continue this success throughout 2025. The result gave the Starship 7 a share of 3.4%.
The last BYD in the top 10 was the Destroyer 05. The model took 18,329 registrations, up 120.8% compared to December 2023. This was enough for a 3.2% market share, an improvement of 0.9pp.
Finally, the Aito M9 took 10th with 13,621 deliveries and a market share of 2.4%. The marque will be hoping to see these figures continue to improve into 2025.
Tesla in trouble?
In the BEV market, the Tesla Model Y once again took the top spot in the full-year table. Its 2024 registration tally reached 480,309. This gave the model a 7.6% market share.
However, the Tesla Model Y faced a bigger challenge across the year. In 2023, the model had a 119,904-unit lead in China. In 2024, this gap to second place shrunk to 38,124 units.
This was due to the success of the BYD Seagull. The Chinese BEV flew through the year, keeping close to, and at times outpacing, the Tesla. The US brand will be keen to see a rise in performance this year with its facelifted model.
The Seagull secured second place thanks to 442,185 registrations, a 7% market share. BYD also took third with the Yuan Plus, although this sat 168,868 units behind the top two. A total of 273,317 units were delivered to customers, a 4.3% market share, and a 168,868 gap to second.
Fourth was taken by the Wuling Mini, with 261,141 registrations, 12,176 behind the Yuan Plus. This gave the small BEV a 4.1% share of total all-electric registrations. Rounding out the top five was the Wuling Bingo, with 210,374 deliveries and a 3.3% market share.
Changing places
Tesla saw its refreshed Model 3 end the year in sixth. This was an improvement on the ninth-place finish in 2023 but will be below the expectations of the US brand. In 2024, the model achieved 176,793 registrations and a 2.8% market share.
In seventh was the BYD Dolphin, with 160,594 deliveries, representing 2.5% of all BEV sales in China. This was 16,199 units behind the Tesla Model 3, suggesting another close battle for 2025.
Eighth went to the Aion Y with 156,503 registrations, just 4,091 units behind the Dolphin. It also took a 2.5% market share. In ninth there was a position change, with the Changan Lumin overtaking the BYD Qin Plus.
The Lumin recorded 145,142 registrations in 2024. This equated to a 2.3% market share, putting it just 1,107 units ahead of the Qin Plus. The BYD model sank to the bottom of the top 10. It recorded 144,035 deliveries in 2024, taking a 2.3% market share.
Model Y takes to the top
The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling BEV in China in December. The end-of-quarter spike meant the US model secured 61,881 registrations, an increase of 3% year on year. It accounted for an 8.2% market share. However, due to increased competition, this represented a 1.2pp drop on December 2023.
The BYD Seagull achieved 48,754 deliveries, a decline of 3.5% compared to December 2023. This meant its market share fell by 1.4pp to 6.5%.
Third was taken by the Wuling Mini, with 37,747 units delivered to customers in December. This was up 50.9% compared to the same period last year, while its market share rose 1.1pp to 5%.
In fourth, the Wuling Bingo secured a strong month for the brand. The model recorded 30,757 registrations, up 12%. This gave it a 4.1% market share, down by just 0.2pp year on year.
In its ninth month on the market, the Xiaomi SU7 achieved its best-ever volume, with 25,815 deliveries in December. This was enough to take fifth position, with a 3.4% share of all BEV registrations in China.
Rounding out the month
Sixth was taken by the BYD Yuan Plus, with 23,048 registrations. This was a decline of 25.2% year on year. The model struggled as the BYD Seagull improved in popularity across the year. Its 3.1% market share was down by 1.7pp compared to December 2023.
The Tesla Model 3 took seventh with 21,046 registrations, a 33.6% rise compared to 12 months prior. Tesla benefited from a traditional end-of-quarter peak, with the sedan’s 2.8% market share improving 0.3pp. Eighth went to the BYD Yuan Up, with 18,552 deliveries in December. In the model’s 10th month on the market, it secured a 2.5% share.
The Geely Geome Xingyuan placed ninth, with 16,491 units delivered in just its fourth month on sale. The model made up 2.2% of overall BEV deliveries. Finally, 10th in the month went to the Luxeed R7, with 15,903 registrations in what was just the model’s second month of availability. It captured 2.1% of the market.
