19 January 2026
The global electric vehicle (EV) market will crown two models as 2025 market leaders. While a Tesla battery-electric vehicle (BEV) charged ahead, BYD led the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) race. Tom Geggus, Autovista24 editor, unpacks the latest data from EV Volumes.
November saw overall new EV sales slow dramatically. Deliveries of BEVs and PHEVs recorded their lowest monthly year-on-year growth rates in 2025 so far.
In total, 1,338,699 all-electric vehicles were delivered, up by 11.8%. This is a far cry from the 56.5% increase recorded in February. It also marked the slowest BEV growth since August 2024, when the market improved by 5.1%. November’s result brought the 2025 cumulative increase to 30.1%, with 12,468,696 units sold.
PHEVs, including extended-range electric vehicles, saw growth slow even more severely, with volumes up by 1.5% to 705,624 units.
The market has been slowing from a high point in May 2025, when sales grew by 44.3%. November’s figures meant 6,901,957 PHEVs have been delivered globally in the first 11 months of the year, up by 20%.
Tesla Model Y leads again
The Tesla Model Y reclaimed the monthly BEV lead in November. However, its total of 97,667 units was down by 10.5% year on year. This meant its market share fell by 1.8 percentage points (pp) to 7.3%.
Meanwhile, the Wuling Mini continued to see growth in second place, with its sales up by 63.2% to 56,785 units. This meant it represented 4.2% of all BEV shares, up from 2.9% in November 2024.
Third went to the Tesla Model 3, which saw a 7.7% dip in deliveries to 51,211 units. Its share dropped by 0.8pp to 3.8%. Fourth went to the Geely Geome Xingyuan, also known as the EX2 in some markets. It recorded the greatest volume growth in the top 10 at 114%. The BEV’s 42,873 sales equated to 3.2% of the market, up from its 1.7% share recorded 12 months ago.
The BYD seagull, also known as the Dolphin Surf, came in fifth. Its sales dropped by 31.3% to 40,746 units, taking its share down by 2pp to 3%. Sixth went to the Xiaomi YU7, which first recorded sales in June 2025. It recorded 33,778 deliveries, taking 2.5% of the global BEV market.
The BYD Yuan Up, also known as the Atto 2, landed seventh. It recorded sales growth of 8.7% to 23,889 units, keeping its share at 1.8%. Eighth went to the BYD Sea Lion 06, even though it only began posting significant sales midway through 2025. It captured 1.7% of the market in November with 22,093 sales.
Due to strong competition, the BYD Dolphin placed ninth as its market share slipped by 0.2pp to 1.6%. This was the result of 21,491 deliveries, up by 0.9%. The Wuling Bingo S secured 10th in only its second month on sale. It managed 17,959 deliveries for a 1.3% market share.
Tesla Model Y safe at the top
The Tesla Model Y appeared safe at the top of the global BEV leaderboard 11 months into 2025. Between January and November, the crossover saw 959,904 sales and made up for 7.7% of overall volumes. This put it 4.1pp ahead of its sibling, the Model 3, which captured a 3.6% share thanks to 443,125 deliveries.
The Geely Geome Xingyuan was close behind. The BEV achieved a 3.5% share between January and November and moved 430,676 units. The Wuling Mini came fourth with a volume of 405,006 units, capturing a 3.2% share. Only 0.1pp behind was the BYD Seagull, recording 386,400 sales.
With a 2% market share and 247,614 deliveries, the Xiaomi SU7 came sixth. It was followed by the BYD Yuan Up, which moved up a place to seventh. It accounted for 1.8% of all BEVs sold in the first 11 months of 2025, with 220,590 sales.
This meant it knocked its sibling, the BYD Yuan Plus, also known as the Atto 3, down a place to eighth. The all-electric model took a 1.7% share with 211,421 deliveries. Hot on its tail was the BYD Dolphin, with 206,703 units and a 1.7% share. Then came the Xpeng M03, representing 1.3% of the overall market and recording 163,082 deliveries.
BYD PHEV gains ground in November
November saw BYD gain ground in the global PHEV market. The brand occupied seven of the 10 top slots, up from five in October. The BYD Qin Plus led the way with 33,800 units sold, up by 21.9%, pushing its market share up by 0.8pp to 4.8%.
BYD’s Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 came second after its sales kicked off in August. Its 24,019 deliveries gave it a share of 3.4%. This was 0.2pp ahead of the Aito M7 in third, which saw sales rocket by 70.6% to 22,892 units.
Meanwhile, the BYD Song Plus, also known as the Seal U, recorded a delivery drop of 40.1% to 21,858 units. This meant it claimed 3.1% of the market, down 2.2pp. With 21,002 deliveries, the BYD Seal 5 came fifth in its first month on the market, securing a 3% share.
The BYD Seal 6 saw its sales decline by 45.2% to 16,627 units. Its grip on the market weakened form 4.4% in November 2024 to 2.4% a year later. The BYD Song Pro finished in seventh, following a delivery decline of 35.8% to 16,416 units. This meant its share slid by 1.4pp to 2.3%.
The Galaxy Starship 7, also known as the Starray, came eighth with 13,593 deliveries. It accounted for a 1.9% of all PHEV sales. The Galaxy A7 was ninth after first recording sales in June. It claimed a 1.8% share with 12,899 sales. The BYD Song L was 10th as its sales fell by 54.1% to 11,092 units. This meant its share hit 1.6%, down by 1.9pp.
BYD at the top
With no signs of movement, BYD took seven of the 10 top spots in the first 11 months of 2025. Even with its monthly decline in November, the BYD Song Plus looked set to hold on to first place. The PHEV recorded 317,180 sales and a 4.6% market share between January and November.
This put it 0.8pp ahead of its second-place stablemate, the BYD Qin Plus, with 3.8% of the market. It recorded 262,315 sales between January and November. Third went to the BYD Song Pro with 210,961sales and a 3.1% share.
Not far behind was the BYD Seal with 3% and 205,251 deliveries. The BYD Qin L finished fifth with a 2.3% grip on the market and 158,380 sales. The Li Auto L6 was the first non-BYD model in the table. It was only 0.1pp behind in sixth, with 2.2% a share and 154,489 sales.
The close race continued with just 0.2pp separating seventh from 10th. The BYD Destroyer 05 came seventh with a 2% hold on the market and 137,930 units moved. The BYD Song L was eighth with a 1.9% share and 133,622 sales.
The Aito M8 saw 131,811 sales, meaning a 1.9% grip on the market. Then came the Galaxy Starship 7 in 10th, accounting for 1.8% of all PHEV sales and 124,291 units moved.
