China: Plug-In Car Sales More Than Doubled In January 2022

China is not slowing down and notes a very high increase in plug-in electric car sales right from the start of the year.

According to EV Volumes’ data shared by Jose Pontes, in January, some 372,615 new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered in China, which is 115% more than a year ago.

See more reports about plug-in vehicle sales in China here.

The market share also improved to 17%, including 13% for all-electric cars. BEV sales almost doubled (up 98% year-over-year), and stand for 77% of all plug-ins.

• BEVs: about *287,000 and 13% share
• PHEVs: about *86,000 and 4% share
• Total: 372,615 (up 115%) and 17% share

* estimated from the market share

For reference, in 2021, the total plug-in electric car registrations increased by about 153% year-over-year, from 1.27 million in 2020 to 3,224,373.

• BEVs: about *2.5 million and 12% share
• PHEVs: about *0.7 million and 3% share
• Total: 3,224,373 (up 153%) and 15% share

* estimated from the market share

The new year does not bring any change to the first position, as the Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV remains the best-selling model with almost 27,000 units in January.

Interesting is the very strong position of BYD, which put two plug-in hybrids on the podium – Qin and Song. Then, there is the Tesla Model Y and Li Xiang One EREV (series hybrid).

Results for the month:

1. Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV – 26,682
2. BYD Qin Plus PHEV – 18,449
3. BYD Song Pro/Plus PHEV – 16,411
4. Tesla Model Y – 16,358
5. Li Xiang One EREV – 12,268
6. BYD Dolphin – 10,602
7. BYD Han (BEV) – 10,051
8. Chery QQ Ice Cream – 9,984
9. Changan Benni EV – 9,852
10. Chery eQ1 / Little Ant – 9,412

In total, BYD put four models in the top 10, and seven in the top 20 best-selling plug-ins in China. Because of that, the company was able to secure the highest market share of 24.9% in the plug-in segment.

The top plug-in brands:

• BYD: 24.9% share
• SAIC-GM-Wuling: 8.5%
• Chery: 5.3%
• Tesla: 5.2%
• SAIC: 4.5%
• GAC: 4%3

Among the automotive groups, the number one happens to be BYD (24.9%), far ahead of SAIC (13%) – including SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (between SAIC, GM and Liuzhou Wuling Motors). Chery (5.4%) is slightly ahead of Tesla (5.2%), while the top five is completed by Geely-Volvo (5%).