BYD and Tesla remained the world’s top battery electric vehicle (BEV) makers in the third quarter, holding a combined global share of nearly 29 percent, according to a new report from market research firm TrendForce.
BYD led the BEV market with a 15.4 percent global share, though its sales slipped from the second quarter. The company sold 582,522 passenger BEVs in the July–September period, up 31.37 percent year-on-year but down 4.03 percent compared with the previous quarter.
Tesla ranked second with a 13.4 percent share after posting strong quarter-on-quarter momentum. The company delivered 497,099 vehicles in the third quarter — a 7.39 percent year-on-year increase and a 29.41 percent rise from the second quarter. TrendForce said Tesla’s gains were supported by US subsidy deadlines and continued quarterly growth in China.
Geely and Leapmotor also delivered notable gains, taking 6 percent and 4.1 percent of the global BEV market respectively. Xpeng ranked sixth with a 3.1 percent share, while Xiaomi placed eighth at 2.9 percent, TrendForce said.
In the global plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) segment, BYD maintained its clear lead with a 27.9 percent share. But rising competition dampened its performance: the company sold 523,069 passenger PHEVs in the third quarter, down 23.73 percent year-on-year despite a modest 0.56 percent uptick from the second quarter.
Aito, Chery and Geely followed BYD in the PHEV ranking, with Chery seeing particularly rapid growth as its market share climbed to 6.6 percent.
Li Auto, which had secured second place in global PHEV sales in the second quarter, saw its market momentum weaken sharply amid an expanding field of extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) competitors. The company delivered 93,211 vehicles in the third quarter, down 39.01 percent year-on-year and 16.08 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Global new energy vehicle (NEV) sales reached 5.39 million units in the third quarter, a 31 percent year-on-year increase, TrendForce reported. BEV sales totalled 3.71 million units, up 48 percent year-on-year, while PHEV sales rose 4 percent to 1.67 million units.
Looking ahead, TrendForce forecasts global NEV sales of 20.43 million units in 2025, representing 25 percent growth year-on-year. Sales are projected to reach 22.8 million in 2026, growing 12 percent over the prior year.
