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In the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market witnessed significant growth, with sales exceeding the two-million-unit mark for the first time in a year [1]. Leading the pack were domestic manufacturers **BYD, Geely, and Wuling**, surpassing Tesla, the global leader in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), in China's domestic market [2].
**BYD**, the market leader, experienced strong sales growth. In April 2025, the Seagull model sold 55,028 units, marking a 58% increase year-over-year, while the Song PLUS sold 50,329 units, with a 15.1% growth [4]. Overall, BYD's sales in the first four months of the year showed significant growth, with 172,995 units sold in January and 203,175 units in April [4].
**Geely** showed an impressive rise, with the Geely Xingyuan model selling 36,270 units in April and climbing two spots to second place in the brand rankings [1][4]. This represented an 80% increase in overall sales compared to the previous year.
**Wuling** experienced remarkable growth as well, with the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV selling 36,337 units in April 2025—up 201.3% from the previous year [4]. This put Wuling in third place in sales volume.
Tesla, while maintaining a strong presence and global leadership in BEVs, saw its sales of the Model Y reach 33,960 units in April 2025, which is lower than the top Chinese models for that month [4]. Despite this, the Tesla Model Y remained the world's best-selling EV overall thanks to its global reach [2]. However, Tesla's cumulative sales from January to April 2025 decreased by 26.5% compared to the same period in 2024 (123,254 units vs. 167,669 units) [4].
The data shows that Chinese EV manufacturers, especially BYD and Geely, outperformed Tesla in China's domestic market in early 2025, both in monthly and cumulative sales figures [1][2][4]. This trend is expected to continue as the Chinese EV market continues to grow and domestic manufacturers invest heavily in research and development.
References: [1] EV Volumes (2025). Q1 2025 China EV Sales. [Online] Available at: https://ev-volumes.com/quarterly-china-ev-sales/ [2] InsideEVs (2025). April 2025 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card. [Online] Available at: https://insideevs.com/news/524907/april-2025-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/ [3] EV Volumes (2025). Q1 2025 China Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales. [Online] Available at: https://ev-volumes.com/quarterly-china-plug-in-electric-vehicle-sales/ [4] EV Sales (2025). 2025 Q1 China EV Sales. [Online] Available at: https://evsales.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-q1-china-ev-sales.html
- The Chinese electric vehicle market, particularly in the domain of domestic manufacturers like BYD, Geely, and Wuling, exhibited substantial growth in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing two million units for the first time in a year.
- BYD, the market leader, saw significant sales growth in April 2025, with the Seagull model selling 55,028 units—representing a 58% increase year-over-year—and the Song PLUS selling 50,329 units with a 15.1% growth.
- Geely showed impressive growth, with the Xingyuan model selling 36,270 units in April and climbing two spots to second place in the brand rankings, marking an 80% increase in overall sales compared to the previous year.
- Wuling experienced remarkable growth as well, with the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV selling 36,337 units in April 2025—up 201.3% from the previous year—putting Wuling in third place in sales volume.
- Although Tesla maintained a strong presence and global leadership in battery electric vehicles, its sales of the Model Y reached 33,960 units in April 2025, lower than the top Chinese models for that month. However, the Tesla Model Y remained the world's best-selling electric vehicle overall due to its global reach.
- Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, especially BYD and Geely, outperformed Tesla in China's domestic market in early 2025, both in monthly and cumulative sales figures, and this trend is expected to continue as the Chinese EV market grows and domestic manufacturers invest heavily in research and development.
