In 2023, 21.706 million new cars were sold in the Chinese market, with sales increasing by 5.6% year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Although the overall market grew by more than 5%, due to the impact of EVs and PHEVs, ICE sales fell from 14.870 million vehicles in 2022 to 13.958 million in 2023, a decrease of 6.1%. Sales of EVs and PHEVs increased from 5.679 million to 7.748 million, up 36.5%. EVs and PHEVs have accounted for 35.7% of the total market sales.
Note: The sales data in this article come from CPCA: CPCA’s statistical basis is the retail sales of passenger cars produced in China. Sales data do not include imported cars and commercial models. Brand sales do not include sub-brands.
Market Dominance and Brand Rankings
Like 2022, 4 brands will sell more than 1 million vehicles in 2023. They are BYD, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Honda.
Chinese automaker BYD leads the way, achieving sales of 2,571,109 vehicles in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 43.3%. BYD has ranked first in sales of Chinese automobile brands for four consecutive quarters, with a market share of 11.85% this quarter.
Volkswagen ranked second with sales of 2,228,635 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%, and a market share of 10.27%. Although Volkswagen was the sales champion every quarter in 2022, after entering 2023, Volkswagen’s sales have been defeated by BYD every quarter.
Toyota ranked third with sales of 1,702,773 units, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%, and a market share of 7.84%.
Honda and Changan rounded out the top five with sales of 1,193,019 and 962,061 vehicles, respectively.
BYD has extended its dominance in the new energy vehicle (NEV) field, ranking first in electric and plug-in hybrid cars. BYD has a market share of up to 26% in China’s Pure EV market. The brand’s dominance is even more pronounced in the PHEV category, capturing 48% of the market in 2023.
Pure Electric Vehicle Market
In the pure electric vehicle market, BYD sold 1,318,835 vehicles, with a market share of 25.58%. Tesla ranked second with sales of 603,664 cars, and the Model Y alone sold more than 456,000 vehicles.
In the ranking of electric vehicle sales, Aion, Wuling, and Nio occupy the third, fourth, and fifth places, respectively.
Top Individual Models
The top three vehicles in the Chinese market for 2023 were:
- Tesla Model Y: Impressive sales figure of 456,394 cars.
- BYD Qin Plus: Second position, with 434,213 units sold.
- BYD Song Plus: Claiming the third position, with 390,213 vehicles sold.
