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There were 1.7 million plugin vehicles registered worldwide in August.
Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 14% in August 2025 compared to August 2024. There were over 1.7 million registrations. BEVs grew 23% YoY to over 1.1 million units, while plugin hybrids were actually down(!), even if by only 1%, to around 600,000 units. To highlight the importance of this, the last time PHEVs were down, we were in May 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic….
Although, it should be mentioned that this drop rests solely on the recent slowdown in PHEV demand in China, because if we were to remove that country from the tally, PHEV sales would actually be up a robust 31%, which would be above the yearly average of 26% growth. This means that, while we might be witnessing the very first days of Peak PHEV in China, plugin hybrids still have a lot of room to grow in the rest of the world.
In the end, BEVs represented 18% share of the overall auto market (or 27% if we add PHEVs to the tally), keeping the YTD numbers at 16% BEV share (24% PHEV+BEV).
Looking at plugless hybrids, in 2025, they are at 12% share, which means that 36% of all cars sold globally have some kind of electrification.
20 Best Selling EV Models in the World in August — Geely Xingyuan Ascends to 2nd Place
Regarding August’s best sellers, the big news is that the small Geely Xingyuan hatchback continued its never ending rise, reaching yet another record with over 46,000 deliveries. And with exports set to start in coming months, expect its production ramp-up to continue throughout the year.
Although the Xingyuan seems unstoppable right now, this isn’t yet the car that will remove the Tesla Model Y from its leadership position. But a podium medal for the Geely hatchback in 2026? You betcha!
Speaking of the leader, the Tesla Model Y, it had another positive month, growing 10% YoY thanks to some 106,000 registrations, no doubt helped along by the sales rush in the USA before the subsidy end on October 1st.
On the other hand, not even the aforementioned sales rush is saving the Tesla Model 3 sales from staying in the red, with the sedan seeing its deliveries drop by 5% in August to some 42,000 registrations, no doubt squeezed between the increased direct competition and the refresh of the Model Y, which has surely diverted many possible Model 3 clients to the crossover. At the same time, it has not benefitted as much as the Model Y from the US sales rush, as local buyers are more into high-riding vehicles than the rest of the world.
Still, others fared far worse, like the usual runner-up BYD Song, which saw its sales crash 40% YoY to fewer than 40,000 units, finishing the August race only in 4th, which meant that for the first time in years, we didn’t have any BYD on the podium….
But it wasn’t all Doom and Gloom for BYD, as its new BYD Sealion 06 jumped to 8th thanks to close to 27,000 registrations. Will this be the one to replace the Song as BYD’s top seller?
Elsewhere, there isn’t much to mention. The new AITO M8 full size SUV continues to shine, ending the month in 13th thanks to 21,537 sales, and it might continue to grow in the coming months thanks to the new BEV variant.
Below it, there were a few fresh faces showing up, with Great Wall’s Haval Raptor rugged SUV joining the table for the first time, in #16 with a record 17,522 units, all while the highly anticipated Xiaomi YU7 also joined the table for the first time, in #17. Will this be the model to beat the Model Y, globally?
Hmmm … not so fast. Exports are only set to start in volume in 2027, so there’s still a long way to go. Also, who knows how the EV market (and the world) will be in 2028?
In #20, we have another surprise, with the Leapmotor C10 closing out the best sellers table thanks to 14,429 registrations, with this performance being a new record for the startup’s SUV.
Off the table, as usual, there is plenty to talk about, from the successful landing (10,575 units) of the Onvo L90, which has a lot of responsibilities on its shoulders, to the ramp-up of the rather attractive Chery Fulwin A9L sedan (10,243 units) and Leapmotor B01 (10,171 units), a Model 3-like sedan, but far, far, cheaper.
Also worthy of mention is the new Nissan N7 case. Thanks to a positive reception in China, it had some 10,000 registrations in August in that market alone. In the context of that market, the model is just moderately successful, but that’s already enough to make it the best selling EV from the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance globally.
With the recent sales rush happening in the USA, due to the end of the EV tax credit, some model sales are surging, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, which got a record 11,546 registrations, and the Chevrolet Equinox EV, which hit a record score of 10,290 sales.
Top 20 EV Models YTD — Geely Xingyuan climbs to 4th and now wants the Model 3’s bronze medal
In the year-to-date (YTD) table, the Tesla Model Y and BYD Song held their positions and should end the year in their usual spots, 1st and 2nd.
But below them, things are still undecided. While the #3 Tesla Model 3 gained some ground on the BYD Seagull, the Geely Xingyue reduced the distance between it and the US sedan to 14,000 units, passing the BYD hatchback on the way.
With the Geely hatchback now in 4th, is it possible for it to go after the podium position of the Tesla Model 3? With four months to go and 14,000 units separating the two, it should be a tall order, especially when we remember that two (September and December) of those four will be peak months for Tesla, so Geely will be happy just to not lose too much ground in those two months.
On the other hand … with the end of the EV tax credit, expect sales to be low in the USA during Q4, and especially in October and November. So, the Chinese EV will have the chance to recover a lot of ground, and even possibly surpass the Model 3.
So, does the Xingyuan has a real shot at the bronze medal? Maybe, but I would only place a bet at the end of November.
If that does happen, then the Model 3 will fail to reach a podium position for the first time since 2018….
The remaining position changes benefitted the tiny Wuling Mini EV, which went up one position to 6th, all while the BYD Yuan Up jumped two positions, to #14, proving that this workhorse from BYD is well liked globally.
Top Selling Brands & OEMs — Leapmotor Shines
BYD remained at the helm in August, but sales remained flat YoY, as BYD plugin hybrid sales continued to decline. Have we reached Peak BYD? We seem to have at least reached Peak BYD PHEV, as the company’s plugin hybrid sales were down 23% YoY, making it the fifth consecutive month of declining sales….
Time will tell, but I believe in the long run, no single OEM will have more than 10% market share. Currently, BYD has twice that much….
Still on the podium, runner-up Tesla actually had a positive month, growing by 2% YoY thanks in no small part to the sales rush in its domestic market. Meanwhile, 3rd placed Geely once again broke into the 6-digit sales level and was up an impressive 173% YoY.
Wuling was 4th, followed by a surprise….
Yep, the highlight of the month is Leapmotor continuing its record streak and landing the 5th spot in August, ahead of BMW and Volkswagen.
True, August was always going to be a slow month for the two German brands, as half of Europe goes on holidays in that period, but that doesn’t take the shine out of the startup’s career. Its sales jumped to some 57,000 units, thus making it the hottest selling Chinese startup at this point.
Still on the Chinese hot startup list, a mention goes out to Xpeng, which jumped to 9th thanks to a record 37,709 registrations, a new high score for the startup. That was much thanks to the successful launch of the compact Mona M03, and with deliveries of a hot, new P7 flagship sedan liftback starting now, there are reasons to expect more record performances coming from the Guangzhou startup.
And of course, Xiaomi. With the new YU7 now ramping up, sales can only go up, so the phone maker’s EV division has reached a new high in August, 36,398 units, allowing it to climb to the top half of the table.
Elsewhere, we have a surprise in 16th, with Great Wall’s Haval brand debuting on the table thanks to the success of its Raptor SUV.
#18 Ford had its best result (24,321 units) since December 2022, this being another beneficiary of the current rising tide in the USA.
Outside the top 20, we should also highlight two pioneering brands that hit a record result in August, although for different reasons. First, we have Nissan, which scored a record 14,850 registrations, two thirds of that volume coming directly from the China-made N7 sedan. With the new LEAF landing soon globally, and the European-made Micra also landing in a few weeks, the Japanese carmaker has its sights on returning to the best sellers table. Will it be able to do so?
As for Chevrolet, thanks to the end of the EV tax credit and the success of the Equinox EV, in August it was able to get a new record high, 15,072 registrations. With the end of the tax credit and the expected sales winter that should follow, maybe it would be a good idea for the US brand to focus on export markets? While China can already be considered as lost, Latin America isn’t, so maybe it would be a good idea for Chevrolet to push EVs there?
In the YTD table, there wasn’t much to report at the top. BYD is well ahead of everyone else, despite the current slowdown, while #2 Tesla has a significant advantage over #3 Geely, with the same being said about Geely and #4 Wuling.
So the podium for this year is already set:
BYD: Will be its 4th consecutive Best Seller title, and its 7th in total, ever since it won its first back in 2015.
Tesla: The Texan brand will collect its 4th consecutive silver medal.
Geely: Might be hard to believe, but this will be Geely’s first podium appearance on the global stage. I am sure this will be the first of many….
As a performance note on Tesla, its YTD sales are down 10% YoY, so at this pace, the Texan make will end the year at some 1.6 million units … and this will be its second consecutive year of falling sales.
Better luck in 2026?
Below the podium, there’s major news. There were the great performances of the Hot Three — Leapmotor, Xpeng, and Xiaomi. Leapmotor achieved the significant feat of selling more EVs in 2025 than the whole Stellantis OEM in the same period! So, expect Stellantis-badged Leapmotors popping up everywhere sometime in the future (this was Carlos Tavares’ best move at Stellantis).
As for Xpeng, it surpassed Li Auto and climbed to 8th, this being the only position change in the top 20. And Xiaomi now has Toyota just 4,000 units ahead of it, so September should see it surpass the Japanese automaker, while October might see it also surpass Mercedes in the YTD table.
Looking at registrations by OEM, despite a 0.2% drop in August, #1 BYD is still quite comfortable in the lead. It has an advantage of 11.9% market share over #2 Geely, stable at 10.8%.
In Tesla-land, the US make was also stable, keeping its 7.9% market share.
Still, 7.9% is a significant 3.1% share drop YoY, so the sales problem continues, almost the opposite of Geely, which went up from 7.8% share in August 2024 to its current 10.8% share.
Below the podium, both #4 Volkswagen Group (-0.2%) and #5 SAIC (-0.3%) lost share, but kept their positions.
Both are comfortable in their top 5 positions, as 6th placed Changan (4.7%) is too far behind to pose any kind of threat.
Looking just at BEVs …
While BYD (17.1%) is stable in its leadership position, Tesla (12.1%, up 0.1% compared to July) gained some ground over #3 Geely (11.1%, down 0.1%).
Still, comparing these two now to where they were a year ago, the contrast is stark. In August 2024, Tesla was the leader, with 17.5% share, while #3 Geely had 7.6% share….
In 4th, SAIC kept Volkswagen Group at bay, but with 8,000 units separating these two, it will be interesting to see how the race will develop in the rest of the year.
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