According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), 21.706 million new cars were sold in China in 2023, representing a 5.6% annual increase in sales.
It’s interesting to note that, despite the market as a whole growing by more than 5%, ICE (internal combustion engine) car sales decreased by 6.1% from 14.870 million vehicles in 2022 to 13.958 million in 2023. This is because the NEV sales (which include EVs, PHEVs, and EREVs) increased by 36.5%, from 5.679 million to 7.748 million. NEVs (new energy vehicles) make up 35.7% of the market as a whole.
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Chinese automaker BYD is in the lead with sales of 2,571,109 cars in 2023, up 43.3% from the previous year. BYD has topped Chinese automotive sales for four straight quarters while capturing a market share of 11.85% this quarter. This is also the first time that BYD has become the number 1 automaker in full-year sales, before that it was Volkswagen which dominated China’s sales charts for several years.
Volkswagen now ranks second with sales of 2,228,635 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%, and a market share of 10.27%. Although VW was the sales champion every quarter in 2022, from 2023 its sales have been overtaken by BYD every quarter. Toyota came in third place with 1,702,773 units sold, a 3.8% decline in sales from the previous year, and a 7.84% market share. Honda and Changan, with sales of 1,193,019 and 962,061 automobiles, respectively, completed the top five.
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With regard to NEVs, BYD has maintained its lead, coming in first for both electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the Pure EV market in China, BYD holds a market share of up to 26% with 1,318,835 EVs sold. Plus, with 48% of the market in the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) segment in 2023, the brand’s dominance is even more evident.
Tesla came in second with 603,664 vehicles sold, with the Model Y alone accounting for more than 456,000 units. In terms of electric car sales, Aion, Wuling, and Nio come in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Interestingly among EVs, VW was the only non-Chinese brand other than Tesla in the top 10 list.
As for the top three vehicles in the Chinese market in terms of individual sales in 2023, the Tesla Model Y emerges on top with 456,394 units followed by BYD Qin Plus in second position with 434,213 units sold, and BYD Song Plus claiming the third position with 390,213 vehicles sold.
Source: Car News China
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