2021 Global NEV Sales Ranking: Tesla First, BYD Second

On January 31, US-based automotive information website CleanTechnica released sales data for global new energy vehicle (NEV) brands in 2021. The report shows that the cumulative worldwide sales volume of NEVs last year was nearly 6.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 108%. Additionally, total sales by the top 20 brands amounted to 4,763,400 units, accounting for 73.3% of all global sales.

Last year’s top 20 brands included eight from China, four from Germany, three from the rest of Europe, two from the US, two from South Korea and one from Japan.

Compared with the previous year, the sales volume of new energy passenger cars increased by 108% in 2021, which was also the year with the highest annual growth rate since 2012. The market size of new energy passenger cars in 2021 was close to 6.5 million units, with a market share of 9%.

Among them, the growth rate of pure electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles formed a significant difference. The sales volume of pure EVs was 320,810, and the sales volume of DM plug-in hybrid vehicles was 272,935. The sales volume of pure EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 69% and 31%, respectively. In addition, hybrid vehicles increased by 9% year-on-year.

The eight Chinese brands on the list are: BYD, SAIC Motor, SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle, Great Wall Motor ORA, GAC AION, Chery, Xpeng Motors and Changan Auto. Among them, BYD ranked second with a sales volume of 593,900, achieving year-on-year growth of more than 220% and a global market share of 9.1%. SAIC Motor ranked third with sales of 456,100 units. Data showed that these eight brands accounted for 28.23% of the total global new energy sales in 2021.

In terms of the market share held by various car companies, Tesla led with 14.4% and was the only vehicle company in the world with a market share exceeding 10%. However, the US firm’s global market share has been on a downward trend since 2019, with 12% in 2018, 17% in 2019, 16% in 2020 and 14% in 2021.

SEE ALSO: Chinese EV Brands Release January Sales, Xpeng Ranks First

In addition, relevant data showed that the only two brands with annual sales exceeding 300,000 units are SAIC Motor and Volkswagen, with global market shares of 7.0% and 4.9%, respectively. The brands with annual sales exceeding 200,000 units are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle, with global market shares of 4.2%, 3.5% and 3.5%, respectively.

China ranked first with 2,939,800 new energy passenger vehicles sold in 2021, accounting for 45% of the global new energy passenger car market share. Generally speaking, the Chinese market tends to see much better sales performance for new energy vehicles.