E-mobility globally – China remains the leading market, Tesla the global leader in sales

The global ramp-up of electromobility is gaining momentum despite economic challenges. China remains by far the global leading market for e-mobility. Between January and June 2023, around 2.6 million BEVs were newly registered, representing an increase of 31 percent. With a BEV share of about 23 percent in the first six months, nearly one in four newly registered cars in China is fully electric. BEV sales are also continuing to rise dynamically in Europe. Compared to the same period last year, sales of electric vehicles increased by more than 45 percent to 939,000 units. More than half of all new BEV registrations are accounted for by Germany (220,000), the United Kingdom (153,000), and France (138,000).

Tesla drives e-mobility forward

The strongest growth is emerging in the USA overall. In the first six months, fully electric vehicles increased by more than 47 percent to around 560,000 units. With a market share of about 60 percent, US growth is still significantly driven by domestic electric pioneer Tesla. In contrast, other US manufacturers GM and Ford, as well as Asian and German OEMs, still do not play any significant role.

Globally by far the BEV market leader: Tesla

Among the OEMs, Tesla is making significant gains and is at the top globally with about 889,000 deliveries. The Chinese BYD group has almost doubled its sales, pushing it to second place with around 617,000 units. Volkswagen also significantly increased its sales, selling approximately 321,000 electric vehicles. Following in the ranks are SAIC, the Hyundai Group, Stellantis, and the German premium manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

BYD also performs strongly

The development dynamics among the top-selling automotive manufacturers in electromobility (BEV) show a divided picture in the first half of 2023. While a few top performers achieve high BEV growth rates despite economic challenges, the BEV sales dynamics are low for some OEMs. In the global ranking, Tesla is in first place with 889,000 electric vehicles and a growth of 57 percent compared to the previous year. In second place, BYD even increases BEV deliveries by 90 percent to now 617,000 units, getting closer to the industry leader Tesla. At BYD, BEVs and PHEVs each make up about 50 percent of total sales.

With a significant distance to the electromobility market leaders, the VW Group moves up one place to rank 3, increasing its sales in the first half to 321,000 BEVs (+49 percent). Volkswagen benefits primarily from processing previous BEV orders. Measured against the likewise increased overall group sales, electric vehicles still have a relatively low significance with a share of 7.6 percent. In fourth place is the Chinese SAIC group. SAIC has so far benefited greatly from the deliveries of the small electric vehicle Hongguang Mini EV, which are now declining. CAM expects a decrease in BEV registrations to an estimated 300,000 units (-7 percent), with SAIC's BEV sales share still high at 27 percent.

BMW and Mercedes double BEV sales

Hyundai ranks 5th with 230,000 BEV sales, just ahead of the Chinese manufacturer group Geely (including Volvo) and GAC. Stellantis, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz Group complete the top 10. Hyundai and Stellantis were able to increase their BEV sales by 24 percent each, while the share of total sales remains manageable at 6 percent (Hyundai) and 5 percent (Stellantis). In contrast, the Geely Group (+78 percent) and GAC (+111 percent) demonstrate a much more dynamic development. Both companies not only increase their deliveries significantly above average but also feature high BEV sales shares of 21 percent (Geely) and 53 percent (GAC).

Similarly good performance is shown by the two German premium manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz. With 153,000 (BMW) and 122,000 (Mercedes) units, both companies nearly doubled their BEV deliveries in the first half of the year. However, BMW, with a BEV share of 13 percent, is slightly ahead of Mercedes with 11 percent (only passenger cars) and 10 percent (including MB Vans).

The most innovative car brand – once again, Tesla

The sales trends correlate very strongly with the innovation strength in electromobility. Tesla remains the most innovative car manufacturer globally in the field of battery-electric mobility (BEV) with 182 index points. However, Tesla has brought few vehicle-technical innovations but has mainly improved the cost situation along the entire electromobile value chain. The VW Group can slightly close the gap to Tesla in second place, reaching 167 index points (+23 IP). The Chinese conglomerates Geely (+43 IP) and BYD (+23 IP) increase their innovation strength to 104 IP each and are practically tied in 3rd place, ahead of Hyundai with 95 IP (+18 IP) in 5th place and Mercedes-Benz with 81 IP (+38 IP) in 6th place. Geely, Mercedes Benz, and BYD record the strongest increase in the current ranking of the most innovative electric vehicle manufacturers.

"Electromobility is primarily driven globally by Tesla and BYD, which alone already account for 37 percent of BEV sales in core regions. The price war triggered by Tesla puts enormous pressure on competitors, who are increasingly forced to adjust prices," explains study director Stefan Bratzel. "This increases the cost and consolidation pressure, as the margins of electromobility are low or negative for many established volume manufacturers. For the further market ramp-up of electromobility, the range of affordable vehicles must be significantly increased."