Marking a significant milestone in the automotive landscape in April 2024, China recorded a groundbreaking jump in plug-in electric car sales, with its market share surging to 44 per cent. Continuing to surge at a strong rate last month, sales of new plug-in electric cars reached nearly 704,000 units. According to EV Volumes' stats, shared by renowned researcher Jose Pontes, the given figure represents a jump of 30 per cent year-over-year, while the market share surged from 35 per cent to 44 per cent.

Registrations of new all-electric cars (BEVs) surged 10 per cent year over year to nearly 415,000 units, representing 26 per cent of the nation’s total sales volume and 59 per cent of all plug-in car registrations.

The key force of growth was seen in the plug-in hybrids, which grew 65 per cent year-over-year to approx. 290,000 units. To be more specific, the total number of plug-in hybrids registered in the country last month jumped 65 per cent to settle at 289,000 units. In terms of market share, this term settled at 18 per cent.

Top 10 plug-in models in April were BYD Song (54,300 units), BYD Qin Plus (46,314 units), BYD Seagull (28,797 units), Tesla Model Y (26,356 units), BYD Yuan Plus which is also known as Atto 3 (23,327 units), BYD Han (20,535 units) BYD Destroyer 05 PHEV (20,363 units), and Aito M9 (15,139 units).

When it comes to year-to-date (YTD) plug-in car registrations, nearly 1.65 million units of BEVs and 0.89 million units of PHEVs with respective market shares 26 per cent and 14 per cent were registered in the country.

For reference, in the whole year of 2023, slightly more than 8 million new rechargeable cars were registered in China, up 46 per cent from the year of 2022. That was roughly 37 per cent of the total volume. Registrations of plug-in cars has been on a steady rise. In the years of 2022, 2021 and 2020, it was 30 per cent, 15 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.

With China’s plug-in electric car sales touched new heights, the global automotive industry seems to be all set for a monumental transformation. The surge in Chinese brands’ sales not only underscores China’s growing influence but also heralds a new era where EVs will play a central role in shaping a sustainable transportation ecosystem worldwide.