©Reuters. Global BEV sales reach new high
Bank of America tracked electric vehicle sales for December and fiscal 2023, noting in December 2023 that global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales hit a record high of 1.1 million units, marking an increase of 19% year-over-year and pushing the penetration rate above 14% for the first time.
China saw a recovery in EV sales, rising 38% year-on-year in December and 32% in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the EU saw a 20% decline in December due to the phasing out of subsidies the previous year, but the EU penetration rate still reached a new high of more than 22% in December.
Reflecting on the full year 2023, Bank of America saw substantial growth in global BEV sales, totaling 10 million units, representing a 30% year-over-year increase, and an additional 2.3 million units. This growth, while strong, showed a deceleration compared to the previous year (2022) when the increase was 60% year-on-year, with an additional 2.9 million units.
The US outperformed expectations with a 47% year-over-year increase, gaining 1.4 points of market share to approximately 12%. Europe recorded year-on-year growth of 33%, reaching a market share of 22.5%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points.
In contrast, China’s growth has been around 20% year-on-year, but it is important to note that the comparison base in China is much higher.
In absolute terms, China contributed approximately 1 million units to global BEV growth in 2023, accounting for nearly 50% of total global BEV growth, outpacing all other regions.
BYD gained 3.8 percentage points of global market share, surpassing Tesla (NASDAQ:) in the second half of 2023. Tesla maintained its leadership in the BEV market with 18.1% global market share, gaining 1 point percentage on an annual basis.
In the EU, only Volkswagen increased its market share by 0.1 percentage points, while Stellantis’ (STLA) BEV sales fell ahead of its 2024 model offensive.
Among premium EU OEMs, BMW outperformed Mercedes-Benz, expanding its market leadership in BEVs by 0.9 percentage points to 4.2% versus 2.4% for Mercedes-Benz. In the United States, General Motors (NYSE:) gained 0.6 percentage points, outpacing Ford (NYSE:), which lost 0.2 percentage points.