20 May 2025
Chinese brands made a strong impression in the expanding global electric vehicle (EV) market during the first quarter of 2025. But did every marque see gains? Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus delves into the latest EV Volumes data to find out.
Combined sales of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) grew between January and March 2025. The first quarter of the year recorded 4.3 million EV deliveries, marking a year-on-year growth of 34.9%.
The global EV market hit the ground running in January, with sales jumping 22.1%. February surpassed this growth, with deliveries increasing 49.9% compared with the same month in 2024. Then in March, EV sales climbed by 35.1%. These results enabled the positive first quarter, while the market only recorded a marginal change in the powertrain mix.
In the first three months of 2025, BEVs accounted for 63.7% of all EV sales. This was up from 62.4% in the first quarter of 2024, representing increased demand for all-electric cars. This left the global PHEV share of the EV market to fall 1.3 percentage points (pp) to 36.3%. But which brand sold the greatest volume of EVs?
Chinese brands make up majority
Chinese brands took six of the 10 top spots when ranking marques by global EV sales. Leading the way with a commanding market share of 19.6% was BYD, recording 844,052 deliveries. This equated to a year-on-year increase of 4.1%.
Despite this positive result, the brand’s hold on the market weakened. In the first quarter of 2024, BYD accounted for 25.4% of all EV sales. Therefore, its share fell by 5.8pp across the first three months of this year. This was a result of greater competition, as more brands fought for space in an increasingly crowded market.
Amid higher domestic competition, BYD plans to launch an affordable BEV in China. According to electrive, pricing of the new e7 saloon is slated to start at around ¥103,800 (€12,800). The brand will be hoping mass-market models will cement its market lead in China.
However, exporting looks set to be a primary focus for BYD. Reuters reported that BYD is planning to sell half of its vehicles outside of China by 2030. Expansions in Europe and Latin America are set to drive this growth as the brand holds numerous launch events.
One pathway to achieving this will be establishing localised supply and value chains. The carmaker is looking to set up a European centre in Hungary as a hub for sales and after-sales services, as well as testing and development. According to Reuters, this project will create 2,000 jobs locally.
Extending its leasing partnership with Ayvens, BYD will also see its offering grow to 11 European markets. This includes Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Romania, the Netherlands and Sweden.
In April, the BYD Shenzhen set sail on its maiden voyage to Brazil. The vessel can transport up to 9,200 vehicles. The ship is part of BYD’s push to boost exports, with two more transporters likely to join the fleet soon, electrive reported.
Telsa competes with Chinese brands
While only selling BEVs, Tesla was able to take second place in the global EV table. This is significant, given that its competitors offer a wider range of powertrains. However, its market share slipped by 4.2pp to 7.8%, as deliveries dropped 12.5% year-on-year to 337,697 units.
The Model Y and Model 3 led Tesla’s sales in the first quarter, with 201,773 and 118,964 deliveries, respectively. As its third most successful BEV, the Cybertruck recorded far fewer sales at 7,755 units.
December 2024 marked a high point for the model as it reached 4,557 sales. Since then, volumes have continued to fall, posting 3,525 deliveries in January, 2,713 in February and then 1,517 in March.
With the inclusion of its Galaxy sales, third place went to Geely. Its deliveries skyrocketed in the first quarter, jumping by 274.6% year on year to 244,262 units. This meant its market share also climbed by 3.6pp to 5.7%.
Geely Auto, the brand’s manufacturing group, recently signed an agreement with Jameel Motors to sell its vehicles in Poland. Starting in the third quarter, the Geely EX5, an electric SUV, will be the first available model. It will be followed by a PHEV from the C-SUV segment.
Wuling, including its Baojun deliveries, took fourth. It also enjoyed a surge in sales, up 45% year on year to 166,417 EVs. Its grip on the market also increased, up 0.3pp to 3.9% in the first quarter of 2025.
The Wuling Mini was by far the marque’s best-selling model, with 89,185 units delivered. This was double the figure of its next most-popular EV, the Wuling Bingo, reaching 40,152 sales. Of the Mini’s sales, only 18 occurred outside of China, highlighting its domestic popularity.
BMW leads European effort
In fifth, BMW was the first European brand in the global EV top 10. It saw sales increase by 5.7% to 132,987 units. However, this did not prevent its share declining from 3.9% to 3.1% as many Chinese brands made their mark.
The carmaker recently confirmed it is testing solid-state battery technology in an i7 based in Munich. Working with Solid Power since 2016, the two companies are developing greater BEV ranges without increasing battery weight.
Volkswagen (VW) was next, taking sixth place. It saw EV volumes grow by 55.4% to 131,637 units. As it caught up with its local rival, VW’s share increased by 0.4pp to 3.1%. The ID.4 was its best-selling EV, with 31,711 units delivered between January and March.
The brand’s ID. naming convention currently covers its family of BEVs. However, this could soon be coming to an end. Martin Sander, member of the board of management for sales, told Auto und Wirtschaft that their cars will ‘get proper names again’. Neither the ID.2all nor the ID.Every1 will follow the naming convention in series production.
Chinese brand growth
Recording 103,091 sales, Chery finished in seventh. This equated to a sizeable 188.1% growth in deliveries, meaning the marque captured 2.4% of the market, up by 1.3pp.
Its best-selling EV was the Chery Fengyun T6 PHEV, moving 24,590 units alongside the Tansuo 06. It saw deliveries swell in March to 11,786 units, after recording 6,299 sales in February and 6,505 in January.
Li Auto came eighth, with its sales up by 11% to 98,709 units. This meant it accounted for 2.3% of all EV sales, down from 2.8% at the same point last year. With their engine-assist battery-electric system, extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) accounted for 97.6% of the carmaker’s sales.
In ninth with a 2.2% share of the global EV market was Xpeng. This represented an increase of 1.5pp as its sales soared by 321.7% to 96,663 units. The M03 was the brand’s best-selling BEV in the first quarter with 47,130 units moved. This is some feat after the model first started arriving in August last year.
Finally, in 10th came Mercedes-Benz. Its EV sales fell by 5.4% to 90,228 units, meaning its market share also dropped by 0.9pp to 2.1%. The EQB was the marque’s best-selling EV, with 12,927 units moved.
