Global EV Sales Hit Record Of 1.3 Million In September 2023

In September, global sales of plug-in electric cars almost reached a level of 1.3 million units, which is the highest result ever recorded.

According to EV-Volumes data, shared by researcher Jose Pontes, 1,291,077 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered globally in September (23 percent more than a year ago).

Rechargeable cars also secured a pretty solid share out of the global car registrations of 17 percent, including 12 percent for all-electric cars alone.

When including an additional 12 percent for non-rechargeable hybrids, the total share of electrified cars – xEVs (BEVs, PHEVs, HEVs) – is estimated at 29 percent.

Plug-in car registrations for the month:

• BEVs: about *890,000 and 12% market share
• PHEVs: about *400,000 and 5% market share
• Total: 1,291,077 (up 23%) and 17% market share

* estimated from the market share

So far this year, more than 9.4 million plug-in electric cars have been registered around the world, which is about 16 percent of the total volume, we estimate.

Plug-in car registrations year-to-date:

• BEVs: about *over 6.5 million
• PHEVs: about *over 2.8 million
• Total: 9,459,019 (up 39%) and over 16% market share

* estimated

For reference, in 2022, more than 10 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered globally for the very first time. This result will be significantly improved upon in 2023, potentially to more than 13 million units.

Model rank

The Tesla Model Y continued to be the world’s best-selling plug-in model in September with more than 121,000 new registrations.

Next, there are five BYD nameplates (when counting BEVs and PHEVs together). This, combined with the fact that there are eight Chinese models in the top ten, shows us how difficult the situation is for established brands from Europe and North America.

Top 10 for the month:

1. Tesla Model Y – 121,258
2. BYD Song Plus – 63,800 (10,108 BEVs + 53,692 PHEVs) 
3. BYD Qin Plus – 43,010 (11,844 BEVs + 31,166 PHEVs) 
4. BYD Yuan Plus (aka Atto 3) – 35,378
5. BYD Seagull – 35,012
6. BYD Dolphin – 27,240
7. GAC Aion Y – 27,004
8. Tesla Model 3 – 26,058
9. BYD Han – 22,936 (10,554 BEVs + 12,382 PHEVs)
10. GAC Aion S – 21,548

* BEV and PHEV versions of the same models were counted together in the source.

The Tesla Model 3 had a slower month due to the introduction of the Highland version in China, but it still has a theoretical chance to catch up with the BYD Song family year-to-date.

Brand rank

In terms of brands, there is currently no competition for BYD, which sells the highest number of rechargeable cars (over 273,000 new registrations in September).

Tesla is the second best (selling only all-electric cars), but BYD appears to be catching up on that front.

Other top brands are progressing, but they are far behind with 35,000-51,000 sales a month.

Top 10 for the month:

1. BYD – 273,728
2. Tesla – 154,009
3. GAC Aion – 51,034
4. BMW – 48,908
5. SAIC-GM-Wuling – 43,208
6. Volkswagen – 40,465
7. Mercedes-Benz – 37,323
8. Changan – 36,675
9. Li Auto – 36,060
10. SAIC – 35,104

After the first nine months of 2024, the step change between BYD (almost two million) and Tesla (over 1.3 million) became even steeper. Similarly, the rest of the industry was left behind.