Tesla Model 3 still tops global EV sales

Tesla retains its world leading EV sales title in April, even after a 75% sales decline in March due to COVID-19.

About 15,000 Teslas (including 12,000 Model 3s) were sold globally in April, down from 60,000 (almost 50,000 Model 3s) sold in March, EV Sales reports.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) grew faster than the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) average, allowing them to have 74% of the market (67% YTD), in line with the 74% share of last year, EV Sales blogger José Pontes says.

He says that with the Chinese EV market recovering in March, the highest standing Chinese EV is now the BYD Qin Pro EV, joining the table in No.10, with the BAIC EU-Series also re-joining the top 20 at 14, the Saic MG eZS EV jumping to 11, with other models likely to join in the next few months.

Pontes sees EVs and PHEVs weathering the COVID-19 induced global economic crisis better than most in the overall vehicle market and gaining ground for the rest of this year.

He says Volkswagen had a rise in sales according to automotive brands, largely due to sales in China, with China’s BYD sales remaining level, retaining fourth place on the global brands table.

The Tesla Model 3 tops the EV models table, with the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf second and third respectively.

They are followed in order by the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, VW’s e-Golf, the Audi e-tron, BMW 530e/Le PHEV, Hyundai Kona EV and Peugeot 208 EV.

EV and PHEV global sales are expected to rise in the pandemic’s wake as more people have seen air quality improvements through lack of traffic in key cities, prompting more to switch to electric transport.

Meanwhile Pontes forecasts the Tesla Model Y, Nio ES6 and Mini Cooper EV will gain ground globally in coming months, and BYD could reach second spot in May, SAIC fourth and BAIC sixth in the global brands table.

Tesla plans to install 4000 new superchargers in China before the end of 2020, adding to its nearly 2500 superchargers already there.