How BYD overtook Volkswagen as China's #1 brand in 2023, and held the lead since

In 2023 BYD sold just under 2.6 million vehicles in China, up 43.3%, and took the annual top spot from Volkswagen, which had been the country's most popular carmaker since the Santana launched in 1986 (Best Selling Cars Blog, CAAM and CPCA data). BYD has held first place since. In 2025 it led China's passenger-vehicle retail market with a 14.7% share, ahead of Geely at 11.0%, even though its own volume fell (CPCA via CnEVPost).

BYD in China, 2023 to 2025

Year	BYD China volume	Measure	Position
2023	just under 2.6 million	wholesale, +43.3%	#1 brand, Volkswagen #2 for the first time since 1986
2024	3,718,281	CPCA NEV retail	#1, 34.1% of NEV retail
2025	3,484,525	CPCA NEV retail, -6.3%	#1, 27.2% of NEV retail and 14.7% of all passenger retail

2024 and 2025 figures: CPCA 2024 ranking and CPCA 2025 ranking, both via CnEVPost. Because BYD sells only new-energy vehicles, its NEV retail total is also its total China retail.

How BYD did it

Three strategic decisions made the difference:

1. NEV-only line-up from 2022. BYD stopped building pure combustion passenger cars in 2022 and built only BEVs and plug-in hybrids. That caught the Chinese market mid-transition and let BYD take share from legacy brands at the same time.
2. Plug-in hybrids as well as BEVs. PHEVs made up about 60% of BYD's wholesale sales in 2024 on CnEVPost's figures, giving it buyers who wanted a fuel back-up as well as those ready for a full BEV.
3. Vertical integration. BYD makes its own Blade LFP batteries, motors and power electronics, which gives it control over cost and supply across a very wide model range.

NEV penetration in China, context

China retailed about 12.81 million NEVs (BEV and plug-in hybrid) in 2025, up 17.6% (CPCA via Global Times), roughly 54% of passenger-vehicle retail. By August 2026 NEVs reached a record 65.2% of the month's retail market (see our August 2026 China report).

What it means for foreign brands

The ranking change is also a story about domestic brands. In 2025 the top two places on CPCA's retail ranking went to BYD and Geely, two Chinese groups, and Geely grew its NEV retail 81.3% to 1,564,562. Foreign joint ventures such as Volkswagen, Toyota and Honda built their China volumes on combustion cars, the part of the market that is now shrinking fastest. Volkswagen has partnered with Xpeng to develop EVs for the Chinese market.

Source & methodology

2023 ranking from CAAM and CPCA data as reported by Best Selling Cars Blog. 2024 and 2025 figures are CPCA retail rankings as reported by CnEVPost. Wholesale (factory shipments) and retail (sales to customers) figures differ, so the 2023 row is not directly comparable with 2024 and 2025. The brand evolution chart, NEV penetration curve and city-level breakdowns are on the China dashboard.