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Final Up to date on: seventh Might 2025, 12:05 am
Along with our month-to-month report on the highest promoting plugin autos on this planet, right here’s a report on the auto manufacturers and auto teams or alliances which can be promoting probably the most plugin autos globally.
Prime Promoting Manufacturers
In March, #1 BYD is now in full export mode. It received 21% of its gross sales from abroad markets, a stark distinction to the ten% achieved in the entire of 2024. It scored some 350,000 registrations, and with gross sales at this stage already, one should begin to marvel how excessive the Shenzhen make’s gross sales may go within the second half of the yr!
With BYD’s gross sales targets in 2025 set to five.5 million models, 0.8 million of them in export markets, the place will BYD cease? Ain’t no mountain excessive sufficient for BYD? Will the Shenzhen OEM dethrone Toyota as the most important automotive group earlier than the top of this decade? Now, that could be information….
As for Tesla, it’s nonetheless within the pink. The 151,000 registrations symbolize a ten% drop in comparison with the identical month final yr. So, whereas it was a peak month, it nonetheless hasn’t managed to get near final yr’s ranges. And March already had the assistance of the refreshed Mannequin Y….
Under the highest two, #3 Geely continues using excessive in its quest to problem BYD’s domination and surpass Tesla on the way in which. With a powerful portfolio of fashions in China, Geely now wants to start out exporting in excessive volumes with the intention to sustain with the tempo of BYD.
Wuling was 4th, however removed from #3 Geely’s end result (88,000 models vs. 67,000). Now, the SAIC model finest watch behind its again, as a result of if March is something to go by, we may be witnessing the return to type from legacy manufacturers.
Behind #4 Wuling, listed below are all of this month’s highlights concerning legacy manufacturers:
- #5 BMW had its finest end result since December 2023, with over 55,000 models, largely because of its dynamic duo, the BMW i4 midsizer and the iX1 crossover.
- #6 Volkswagen additionally had its finest end result since December 2023, with near 52,000 models, because of its ID lineup pulling robust outcomes. Extra importantly for the German conglomerate have been the report outcomes of its subsidiaries, with Cupra (16,498 models), Skoda (16,053), and even Porsche (11,878) posting finest ever performances!
- Nonetheless within the Volkswagen Galaxy, #17 Audi had its finest rating since … yep, December 2023. It received over 25,000 deliveries, benefitting from the numerous volumes that the brand new Audi Q6 e-tron is now posting.
- As for #7 Mercedes, the 38,000 models of March have been its finest lead to a yr, and with the new new Mercedes CLA touchdown quickly (near 800 km/500 miles vary! 320 kW charging velocity!), count on the three-pointed-star make to expertise important progress within the close to future.
- Transferring now to Asia, the Koreans, Hyundai and Kia, had report scores in March, with over 26,000 models to the previous and over 29,000 models to the latter. Each benefited from added volumes coming from their not too long ago launched small-to-compact fashions, the Hyundai Inster and Kia EV3.
- Lastly, in Japan, whereas the remainder of the house crew are both nonetheless asleep (Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki…) or in soul-searching mode (Nissan, Honda, Mazda), Toyota is shifting ahead. It scored one other report month in March because of a report 28,972 models. Whereas it lacks a real finest vendor (perhaps the BZ3x?), Toyota greater than makes up for an excellent lineup of exhausting working busy bees, like the ever-expanding BZ electrical lineup, and tried and examined PHEV fashions, just like the Prius, Crown, RAV4, and C-HR. And with a mess of fashions being launched this yr, answering the wants of a number of markets (BZ5+BZ7+BZ3x in China, City Cruiser in India, and C-HR+ for Europe), count on the Japanese big to proceed posting report months all year long.
Exterior the highest 20, we also needs to spotlight Renault, with the French carmaker posting its finest end result (16,056 models) since December 2022 because of the success of the Renault 5 hatchback and Scenic crossover. Will we see the French model return to the desk quickly?
Within the YTD desk, there wasn’t a lot to report on the high. BYD is nicely forward of everybody else, whereas #2 Tesla gained a bit extra floor over Geely because of the same old March supply peak. Though, the US model is down by 13% YoY on the finish of the primary quarter.
Far under the rostrum, #4 Wuling has sufficient distance between it and the Germans behind it to proceed cruising alongside.
As for the aforementioned German makes, there was a place change, with BMW surpassing Volkswagen. The Bavarian is now in fifth. With #4 Wuling and #7 Xpeng too distant from these two, count on an entertaining race between these two within the coming months.
Nonetheless in Germany, Mercedes climbed one other place, with the Stuttgart-based make now in tenth.
Within the second half of the desk, Aion is in restoration mode. After returning to the desk in February, March noticed it surge 4 positions to #14. The Guangzhou-based model is seeking to return nearer to the eighth place it held within the desk on the finish of final yr.
Lastly, Ford climbed one place, to #19. Though, it stays to be seen how deeply the Dearborn make shall be affected by the current tariff turmoil.
Prime Promoting OEMs for EV Gross sales
registrations by OEM, #1 BYD misplaced share, going from 24.8% to its present 24.2%, however it’s nonetheless fairly comfy. It has a lead of 13% market share over #2 Geely, which itself was additionally down by 0.6%, to 11.2%.
Tesla profited from the end-of-the-quarter peak, gaining 0.2% share and rising to eight.2% share, however it nonetheless stays fairly removed from runner-up Geely. AND …
… It has to regulate 4th positioned Volkswagen Group. With 7.4% share, Volkswagen Group skilled a 0.3% share enhance in comparison with February, gaining floor on Tesla even whereas the Texan model had a supply peak. If Tesla continues to expertise gross sales blues within the coming months, and the early indicators are that it’s going to (new orders dropped by greater than 20% in April in China, and Europe’s first April outcomes present crashing gross sales…), then the German OEM may actually have a shot at surpassing Tesla this yr!
Heck, we may be even a scenario the place Tesla might be in fifth in March 2026!
This might most likely imply that present fifth positioned SAIC (5.6%, up by 0.2% in comparison with February) would additionally surpass Tesla by then. Though it appears unlikely proper now, who would have thought a yr in the past that Geely could be forward of Tesla by now?…
Exterior the highest 5, BMW Group (3.8%, up from 3.6% in February) gained far on the competitors, whereas #7 Changan (3.5%) and #8 Hyundai–Kia (3.3%) each surpassed Chery (3.2%), now in ninth.
Evaluating the present standing with what was taking place a yr in the past, #1 BYD gained a large 4.8% share in a yr, Geely modified positions with Tesla, with the Chinese language OEM now in 2nd because of a 3.4% acquire in share (11.2% now, 7.8% then), whereas Tesla appears virtually the other, dropping one spot all whereas dropping 3.8% share (12% then vs. 8.2% now). Which means that Tesla misplaced virtually a 3rd of its market share in only one yr.
A yr in the past, I used to be imagining Tesla settling with round 10% share. Now?… No thought.
Trying under the rostrum, whereas SAIC retained its place and share, Volkswagen Group stayed in 4th however has elevated its market share by 1% to 7.4%. Will it be capable of attain 8% by yr finish?
One important change that’s seen by evaluating Q1 ’24 with Q1 ’25 is the autumn of Stellantis. A yr in the past, it was sixth, with 4.3% share, whereas now it’s only tenth, with 2.8% share. In a yr, the multinational conglomerate has dropped 4 positions and misplaced 1.5% share, which is greater than a 3rd of the market share it had a yr in the past. It even makes Tesla’s fall from grace not look that dangerous compared….
Trying simply at BEVs, the large information is that Tesla (12.4%) is now not the perfect promoting BEV maker on this planet, having misplaced that place to BYD (15.4%).
Certain, the yr hasn’t ended, however the tendencies are clear — a yr in the past, Tesla was main with 19% share, whereas now it has misplaced a 3rd of its market share and dropped to 12.4%. In the identical interval, BYD elevated its share barely from 14.8% to fifteen.4%.
The writing is on the wall, of us. Tesla is now not the chief.
#3 Geely, it misplaced share in March (12% in February vs. 11.4% in March), however the Taizhou-based OEM can’t actually complain, because it gained a gargantuan 4% share in a single yr — from 7.4% then to 11.4% now. It principally did the other of Tesla, whereas one misplaced a 3rd of its market share, the opposite gained a 3rd.
At this tempo, I wouldn’t be shocked if Geely was to surpass Tesla by yr finish.
In 4th, now we have Volkswagen Group (8%). In comparison with the place it was a yr in the past, it has surpassed SAIC (7.2%) and gained 1.3% market share (6.7% then vs. 8% now).
#6 Hyundai–Kia had an excellent month of March, rising from 3.9% to 4% share, preserving the sixth place, and preserving a good way over#7 BMW (3.8%, up 0.1% in comparison with February).
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