Amid intensifying competition among Chinese electric-vehicle makers last year, inexpensive models from Geely Auto and Wuling Motor Holdings topped the sales chart, surpassing higher priced cars from BYD and Tesla.
Geely sold more than 459,000 units of the Xingyuan EV, priced between 68,800 yuan (US$9,960) and 98,800 yuan, in 2025, versus 52,570 a year earlier, according to a list of the top-selling EV models on the mainland compiled by a unit under the state-owned China Automotive Technology and Research Center.
It was followed by Wuling’s Mini EV, another sub-100,000 yuan car, whose sales jumped 55 per cent year on year to 427,000 units.
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Tesla’s Model Y ranked third, although sales fell nearly 21 per cent year on year to 382,300 units, indicating intense rivalry among EV makers on the mainland. The sales slumped despite the US car giant releasing several payment schemes to boost volumes of the car priced between 260,000 yuan and 310,000 yuan.
BYD’s Seagull, the second-best selling EV in 2024, slid to fourth place in 2025 after sales declined 31 per cent to 307,000 units.
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China’s policymakers have repeatedly urged carmakers to stop resorting to discounts amid deflationary pressures, urging companies to shift to alternatives like pricing upgraded models at lower levels and rolling out subsidised purchase schemes as long as seven years.
