According to a recent report by Counterpoint, the global sales of passenger electric vehicles (EVs), which include both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), saw an 18% year-over-year increase in the first quarter of 2024. Pure electric vehicle sales grew by 7%, while plug-in hybrid vehicle sales surged by 46%.
China continues to dominate the global EV market, followed by the United States and Europe. In the first quarter of 2024, China’s EV sales increased by a substantial 28% year-over-year, whereas the United States saw a modest 2% increase. Despite overall growth in the U.S. market, pure electric vehicle sales declined by 3%.
Leading EV manufacturers like Tesla and BYD have successfully reduced the manufacturing costs of pure electric vehicles, enabling them to offer competitive pricing.
This cost reduction has placed significant pressure on traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors, which are still struggling to bring down their production costs. Although these companies have introduced competitively priced pure electric vehicles, they are experiencing substantial losses.
In response to these financial challenges, traditional automakers are shifting their focus towards plug-in hybrid vehicles, prioritizing these models over pure electric ones. Until these manufacturers develop strategies to reduce production costs and meet emission targets to avoid fines, the adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles is expected to continue growing.
In the first quarter of 2024, Tesla’s sales dropped by 9% year-over-year, yet it regained the top spot in pure electric vehicle sales with a 19% market share. BYD Group and Volkswagen Group followed closely behind.
Notably, among the top three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), only BYD achieved growth, with a year-over-year increase of 13%. In contrast, Tesla and Volkswagen experienced declines of 9% and 4%, respectively.
BYD also excelled in the plug-in hybrid vehicle segment, capturing nearly one-third of the global market share, followed by Geely. BYD exported nearly 100,000 electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, reflecting a 152% year-over-year increase, with significant growth in the Southeast Asian market.