While the U.S. continues to push forward on electric vehicle adoption, other countries are racing ahead in terms of the percentage of EVs compared to traditional automobiles. China hit a 35% market share for new electric vehicles in the month of September. Following is why it's important and what companies are leading the way.
What Happened: Sales of electric vehicles hit 35% of all new vehicle sales in September for China, news that came as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was announcing price cuts in the region. Plugin vehicles were up 78% year-over-year in September and hit 636,000 new registrations, a new record for the country.
In September, plugin hybrid vehicles had 161,000 registrations, setting a record for the fifth straight month, according to CleanTechnica.
Battery-powered electric vehicles grew 62%, hitting a record 475,000 vehicles, and represented 26% of new vehicle registrations in September for China.
Year-to-date the market share for plugin vehicles in China is 29% of new vehicles. Battery powered electric vehicles represent 22% of all new vehicles sold in 2022.
The report said that plugin vehicles and battery-powered vehicles could represent 45% and 33%, respectively, in China a year from now. The highly anticipated 50% mark of all new vehicles being electric is on pace to hit in 2025.
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The Chinese EV Leaders: The bestselling electric vehicle in September for the Chinese market was the Model Y from Tesla, with 46,694 units sold. Ranking second for September was the BYD Song Plus from BYD Company ADR (OTC:BYDDY) at 45,939 units sold. Third place for September was the Wuling HongGuang Mini from Wuling Motors at 37,416 units sold.
BYD had six of the top 10 places in September for plugin vehicle sales in China, ranking second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth.
BYD ranked second for overall automotive sales in China in September, trailing only Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAPY). Tesla had two places in the top 10 with the Model Y and the Model 3, which ranked sixth with 30,919 units sold. Tesla ranked sixth in China for September among all automotive companies for units sold.
Impressive enough, seven electric vehicles ranked among the bestselling overall vehicles in China for the month of September, with only the Nissan Sylphy (4th), VW Lavida (6th) and Toyota Corolla (10th) ranking in the top 10. The three traditional automobiles on the list are less expensive sedans, which could show that continued momentum in lower-priced electric vehicles could greatly increase EV adoption rates.
Year-to-date, the leader in electric vehicle sales is the Wuling HongGuang Mini at 316,238 units sold. The BYD Song Plus ranks second at 285,288 units sold followed by the BYD Qin Plus. The Tesla Model Y ranks fourth in the country with 219,405 units sold in 2022. The Tesla Model 3 ranks eighth with 99,944 units sold. BYD holds six of the top 10 places year-to-date on the list.
In 2022, BYD is the third-largest automaker by sales in China behind Volkswagen and Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM). Tesla is the second largest U.S. brand in China by unit sales, trailing only Buick from General Motors Company (NYSE:GM). In China, Tesla is larger than the Chevrolet and Ford brands owned by GM and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), respectively.
When it comes to China and the electric vehicle market, BYD is the runaway leader with a 29.8% market share. The company counts Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) as major investors.
Tesla has 7.9% market share for electric vehicles in China year-to-date, ranking third behind BYD and SAIC, a Chinese state-owned company that counts Wuling as one of its brands.
While investors look to companies such as Nio Inc – ADR (NYSE:NIO), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) and Xpeng Inc – ADR (NYSE:XPEV) for exposure to the Chinese electric vehicle market, the new report shows BYD and Tesla are among the market leaders and could benefit the most from further market share gains in the country.
Photo: Pixabay
