China continues to have the lion’s share of electric vehicle sales in the global market, and this year is seeing a few new technology options coming to market. Range-extender electric vehicles have been gaining a demand increase and are part of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) seeing an 81% growth rate last year in that country.
Some of the range-extenders were introduced to the U.S. market years ago, such as the BMW i3 with the range-extender option, the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius Prime, and Jeep Wrangler 4xe. China’s version of range-extender electric vehicles have yet to come to Western markets in mass volumes.
Bloomberg reported that extended-range electric vehicles have become the fastest-growing propulsion system for vehicles in China. Chinese automaker Li Auto is a leader in that field, with most of its vehicles having the technology. The Li6 was launched in China in April 2024, and became very popular.
London-based forecast and analysis firm Rho Motion reported that China had nearly two thirds of new global plug-in vehicle sales last year. At about 11 million units sold, it was a 40% increase over 2023. The BYD Song (available both in battery electric vehicle — BEV — and PHEV versions) led the market at about 660,000 units sold in China last year.
The Chinese market benefited from its car trade-in program, which was extended into 2025. Those trading in for an battery electric, or plug-in hybrid, receive 20,000 yuan ($2,755), while those trading in for a gasoline car get 15,000 yuan ($2,067).
One aspect of China’s market that’s not entirely clear is how many hybrid vehicles, without plug-ins, are being sold there. Those figures don’t appear to be available. Toyota has been selling its Corolla Hybrid and Levin Hybrid in China, which may be around 100,000 units sold in total in that market per year.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are included in the China’s ‘new energy vehicle’ category along with battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that by the end of 2023 a total of 18,096 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles had been sold in country, 36.19% of the targeted 50,000 vehicles by 2025.
Other technology innovations coming to market have included anticipation for BYD’s first 1,000-kW ultrafast charging stations rolling out in early April. Its smart driving technology features, branded as ‘God’s Eye’ or ‘DiPilot’, have been rolling out through automated parking, adaptive cruise control, and advanced braking assistance.
On the BYD Vs. Tesla front, the Chinese maker continues to lead the way. BYD sold 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, including 1.76 million battery electric vehicles and 2.54 million hybrid electric vehicles. Tesla sold 1.79 million battery electric vehicles last year.
BYD dominates the Chinese market, with its sales surging 164% in February 2025, while Tesla’s deliveries in China slumped.
Chinese EV maker Nio started up in 2014, went public in 2018, and has been getting a lot of attention from investors and auto market analysts over the years. Times have been rough lately with its risk level flagged in a fourth quarter earnings report that came out March 21. It’s seen weak car deliveries in recent months, as deliveries of the first model from its sub-brand Onvo, the L60 SUV (sport utility vehicle), have been lower than expected, according to CnEVPost.
Sales have been solid, though. Nio delivered 15,039 vehicles in March, up 26.7% over February and 14% higher than a year earlier. The Nio brand and its Onvo sub-brand saw rebounds in March over February.
Leaving Tesla for competitors: Lucid Motors’ interim CEO Marc Winteroff told Fox Business that the company has seen a “dramatic uptick over the past two months” in orders from former Tesla drivers. Over that time, 50% of orders were from former Tesla owners. Lucid has been ramping up deliveries of its first electric SUV, the Gravity. Winteroff said that deliveries will resume by the end of April. Tesla owners have been looking switch over to other EV makers since CEO Elon Musk started campaigning for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and especially since he was appointed head of the new Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and started making deep staff cuts at federal agencies.
Hyundai IONIQ line continues to thrive: The Hyundai IONIQ 6 has been awarded the 2025 Best Value electric vehicle by Cars.com. The South Korean automaker says that a few of its features helped earn the award. One of them is its IONNA joint venture with eight OEMs to develop a new, high-powered charging network with at least 30,000 chargers. Beginning in Q1 2025, Hyundai is providing complimentary NACS adapters North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Hyundai EVs with the free NACS ports will gain access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This will double the size of the DC fast charging network available to Hyundai EV customers. Evolve+, Hyundai’s electric vehicle subscription service, provides flexibility and affordability to consumers that want to drive Hyundai’s newest electric vehicles without committing to a purchase or lease. The IONIQ 6 electric sedan and the IONIQ 5 electric crossover SUV models have been winning lots of awards; with the 6 taking World Car of the Year in 2023, and the 5 taking that award in 2022.
