BEVs to account for 26% of Chinese market by 2024
- Sales of battery electric passenger cars (BEVs) continued to grow in China in 2024. From 5% of the Chinese market in 2020, they rose to 13% of the market in 2021, 21% in 2022, 24% in 2023 and 26% in 2024. China is thus consolidating its lead over other countries in terms of battery electric cars, since in Europe (30 countries: EU + United Kingdom + Switzerland + Norway), the share of BEV sales did not exceed 16% last year, and in the United States it did not exceed 8%. In Japan, it did not exceed 2% market share.
- In volume, BEV sales represent 7,037,467 units compared to 6,132,487 in 2023 in a market of 27.5 million passenger vehicles, up 5.8% compared to 2023. The strongest growth in China, however, are plug-in hybrid engines (PHEV), with a market share reaching 19% in 2024, compared to 11% in 2023 and 7% in 2022. In volume, PHEVs represent 5,103,379 units in 2024 compared to 2,735,656 in 2023.
- One carmaker has emerged exponentially during the rapid and significant development of BEV and PHEV sales in China, thanks to a range well adapted to demand. This is BYD, which has captured a quarter of the Chinese BEV market and half of the Chinese PHEV market. BYD has thus sold 1,750,000 BEVs + 2,500,000 PHEVs in 2024, or 4,250,000 vehicles, becoming the sixth largest car carmaker in the world last year.
- Full-hybrid (HEV) engines have little success in China, since they only represent 3% of the Chinese market in 2024, as in the previous two years. At the same time, gasoline, diesel and mild-hybrid (MHEV) engines are losing a lot of influence, going from 82% of the Chinese market in 2021 to 62% in 2023 and 52% in 2024.