Global EV Sales Grow 27%, Hyundai Motor Group’s Market Share Declines

Global electric vehicle deliveries for the cumulative period through August this year have grown by nearly 30% compared to the same period last year. While Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicle deliveries also increased, its market share declined as Chinese automakers significantly expanded their sales.

According to market research firm SNE Research on Oct. 14, electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrid vehicles) registered worldwide from January to August this year totaled 12,837,000 units, a 27.7% increase from the same period last year (10,050,000 units).

By group, China’s BYD maintained its top position in global electric vehicle sales with 2,556,000 units, a 14.1% increase. Its market share was 19.9%. BYD’s strong performance is attributed to its flexible response to tariffs and subsidies through factory establishment and expansion in Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions. However, BYD has lowered its annual sales target for this year from 5.5 million to 4.6 million units, citing intensified competition with rival companies. China’s Geely Group ranked second, with sales surging 67.8% to 1,315,000 units, capturing a 10.2% market share.

U.S.-based Tesla ranked third with sales of 985,000 units, a 10.9% decrease. Tesla was the only brand among the top 10 to experience a sales decline. The poor performance of its main models, Model Y and Model 3, was a major factor in the sales drop. By region, Tesla saw decreases of 21.5% in Europe, 12.2% in North America, and 6.9% in China.

Hyundai Motor Group, ranking seventh, continued its growth trend by selling 416,000 electric vehicles, a 12.9% increase. In the pure electric vehicle segment, IONIQ 5 and EV3 drove performance, while small and locally strategic models such as Casper (Inster) EV, EV5, and Creta Electric also contributed to the sales increase. However, due to the sales expansion of Chinese brands, its market share recorded 3.2%, a 0.5 percentage point decrease compared to last year (3.7%).

By region, China accounted for 63.0% of the entire electric vehicle market. Sales volume increased by 29.0% year-on-year to 8,094,000 units. The European market recorded 2,561,000 units, a 32.0% increase, with an overall market share of 19.9%. The North American market accounted for 9.4% with 1,209,000 units.