21 October 2025
The pace of electric vehicle (EV) sales growth has slowed globally. But which countries, powertrains and models are at the forefront of this trend? Autovista24 editor Tom Geggus investigates the latest data from EV Volumes.
Including battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), 1,802,584 EVs were sold globally during August. This marked a 21.5% year-on-year increase, according to EV Volumes. However, this rate of growth has slowed consistently since April, when deliveries were up by 37.9%.
Between January and August, 13,062,688 EVs hit the roads, equating to a year-on-year increase of 31.2%. Whether this rate of growth is further stunted will be a matter of several interlocking factors.
EV powertrain performance
First, it will depend on the performance of the two powertrains. BEVs have seen a varied performance across 2025, from a 57% boost in February to a slower 25.2% rise in May. In August, global all-electric sales increased by 27.4% to 4,740,276 units. In the first eight months of 2025, a total of 8,322,412 BEVs were sold, up 33.5%.
Unfortunately, PHEV declines have been far more consistent. Following a 44.3% spike in sales during May, the powertrain has seen its rate of growth drop month after month. In August, deliveries were up by 11.8% to 630,356 units. This put the cumulative total to 4,740,276 sales, up 27.4%.
This trend has been driven by the powertrain’s performance in China. In August, 75.2% of all PHEV sales took place in the country. However, its sales volume grew by just 4.7%. This follows a slow July, which produced the powertrain’s worst year-on-year performance since June 2020.
This was behind the US, where deliveries rose 24%, and Germany, where sales increased by 77.7%. However, these two countries only made up 5.4% and 3.8% of the global PHEV market, respectively.
In September’s report, European countries like the UK and Germany can be expected to see even greater EV sales. This will be the result of regional effects, such as changes to incentives and registration plates. It seems unlikely that this will be enough to bolster results in the year-to-date, however.
So, PHEVs have slowed global EV growth, and China’s market for the powertrain has cooled. But how have individual models been impacted by these trends?
Poor PHEV growth performance
Only four PHEVs in August’s top 10 managed to avoid year-on-year sales declines. However, these models only became available within the last 12 months, so no comparisons are possible.
Meanwhile, established models in the top 10 all saw declines in the month. These cars are seeing a slower market, as well as increased competition from younger, more advanced vehicles.
The BYD Qin Plus saw deliveries drop by 18.1% compared with August 2024. Its volume of 26,833 units equated to a market share of 4.3%, down from 5.8% a year prior. While this downturn will be bad news for the carmaker, it was one of the smallest falls in the top 10.
EV Volumes categorises extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) alongside PHEVs. This powertrain uses a combustion engine as a generator for the battery system, instead of directly powering the wheels.
The technology has received increasing attention and popularity, with the Aito M8 coming second in August. It recorded 21,537 sales and a 3.4% market share. However, the model is relatively new to the market, with its first sales recorded in April this year.
The BYD Song Plus, also known as the Seal U in select markets, came third with 20,097 sales. This equated to a drop of 36.8%, as its market share fell by 2.4 percentage points (pp) to 3.2%.
The BYD Seal 6 finished fourth as its deliveries dropped by 44% to 19,031 units. This meant its market share was halved from 6% in August 2024 to 3% in August 2025. Fifth place went to the BYD Song Pro, which saw sales fall by 30.5% to 16,154 units. This meant its share slid by 1.5pp to 2.6%.
New entrants pack a punch
With sales first recorded in June this year, the BYD Sealion 06 has stepped up deliveries. The model reached 15,019 units, taking a 2.4% market share in August. This posed issues for established models in the top 10.
In seventh, the BYD Qin L’s market share fell by 4.4pp to 2%. It saw the largest delivery drop in August’s top-selling PHEV table, down 65% to 12,600 units. There was increasing pressure from newer Geely models as well.
The Galaxy A7 first recorded sales in June 2025 and took a 1.9% share in August with 12,078 units. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Starship 7 hit the market in November 2024, and 10 months later, it recorded 11,431 sales. This gave it a 1.8% market share in August, putting it ninth. However, the model’s performance has slowed after a strong start to the year.
The Li Auto L6 was knocked downwards as its hold on the global PHEV market loosened by 2.6pp to 1.8%. It recorded 11,313 deliveries, equating to a drop of 54.6%.
BYD’s changing places
Between January and August, the BYD Song Plus managed to retain the top spot with a 5% market share. Having moved 239,110 units, its nearest competitor was the BYD Qin Plus, which moved up to second place. It recorded 162,564 sales and a 3.4% share.
This knocked the BYD Song Pro into third as it represented 3.3% of the market with 158,617 deliveries. The BYD Seal 6 finished fourth with a 3.1% share and 147,383 sales.
The first non-BYD model in this top 10 was the Li Auto L6 with 122,637 units and a 2.6% market share. It was followed by three more BYD models, highlighting the brand’s relative dominance.
The Qin L was sixth with a 2.5% share and 119,200 sales in the first eight months of the year. Then came the Song L with 99,885 deliveries and a 2.1% hold. Only 1,442 units behind was the BYD Destroyer 05, also known as the Seal 05. It recorded 98,443 sales and a 2.1% share. Neither the Song L nor the Destroyer 05 placed in August’s top 10.
The Galaxy Starship 7 came ninth with a 1.9% hold and 91,288 deliveries. The Auto M8 moved up to 10th, taking the place of its sibling, the Aito M9. The M8 recorded 83,327 sales and a 1.8% share.
Tesla Model Y maintains growth
The Tesla Model Y held on to the top spot in August’s global BEV top 10. Its deliveries increased by 7.8% year on year to 105,904 units, accounting for 9% of the total market. However, this was down by 3.7pp from a year ago. Having struggled at the start of the year, August marked the third consecutive month of volume improvement for the US model.
After first recording sales in September last year, the Geely Geome Xingyuan claimed a 3.9% market share. Its 46,057 sales allowed it to secure second, ahead of the Tesla Model 3, which moved 43,556 units, down 4.2%. Accordingly, the sedan’s market share dropped by 1.2pp.
In fourth, the Wuling Mini’s deliveries increased by 43% to 37,838 units. Its grip on the market tightened by 0.3pp to 3.2%.
BYD places four BEVs
The first of four BYD BEVs arrived in fifth. With 29,331 sales, the BYD Seagull, also known as the Dolphin Surf, saw deliveries decline by 33.2%. Its market share reached 2.5%, down from 4.8% a year prior.
The BYD Yuan Up, also known in some markets as the Atto 2, came sixth. Its sales increased by 10.6% to 21,634 in the month. This meant its market share grew by 0.3pp to 1.8%.
The Xiaomi SU7 followed with a 1.7% share and 19,877 deliveries. This was the largest sales growth recorded in the top 10, up 51.3%. Its grip on the market also increased by 0.3pp to 1.7%.
While the BYD Dolphin was only 238 units behind with 19,639 sales, this equated to a delivery drop of 8.3%. Its share also declined, from 2.3% to 1.7%. However, this was better than the BYD Yuan Plus, also known as the Atto 3. Taking ninth, its sales nosedived by 43.7% to 18,683 units. Accordingly, its share hit 1.6%, down 2pp.
Taking 10th was the Xiaomi YU7. After first recording deliveries in June this year, it claimed a 1.4% market share with 16,295 sales.
Tesla’s top two
The annual BEV chart remained static for the second month in succession, with no position changes. Between January and August, Tesla held the top two spots, with the Model Y in first and the Model 3 in second.
The all-electric crossover recorded 657,313 sales and claimed a 7.9% share. Its sedan sibling took less than half this amount with a 3.6% share and 302,914 deliveries.
The Geely Geome Xingyuan came third as it continued to close the gap with the Tesla Model 3. Its cumulative 295,434 sales were only 7,480 units away from second place as it made up 3.5% of the market.
The BYD Seagull made up 3.1% of the global BEV market with 259,615 sales. The Wuling Mini finished fifth with 235,315 deliveries and a 2.8% share. With a 2.4% hold, the Xiaomi SU7 came sixth with 200,132 sales.
The BYD Yuan Plus was seventh with a 2% share and 163,576 sales. In eighth, the BYD Yuan Up recorded 142,771 deliveries and a 1.7% share. The BYD Dolphin came ninth with a 1.6% share and 136,049 sales. Then in 10th place was the Wuling Bingo, accounting for 1.4% of all BEV sales, with 119,978 units.
