Volkswagen ruled the Chinese passenger car market for the better part of two decades. From at least 2008 through 2022, the VW name plate (across SAIC-VW and FAW-VW joint ventures) was the country's #1-selling brand. In 2023 that streak ended. BYD took the #1 spot with 2,571,109 retail sales versus VW's 2,228,635 (CPCA figures via CarNewsChina, 12 January 2024), and in 2024 the gap widened.
The Inflection Point: 2021
BYD sold about 730,000 vehicles in 2021. Then a perfect storm: the launch of the Blade Battery, aggressive vertical integration of cell, motor and IGBT manufacturing, and a model lineup that was almost entirely PHEV/BEV by 2022. BYD stopped making pure ICE cars in March 2022, the first major automaker to do so.
Three Models Did Most of the Work
The Song Plus DM-i (PHEV SUV), the Qin Plus DM-i (PHEV sedan), and the Seagull (entry-level BEV hatchback) each sold in the hundreds of thousands in 2024, volumes few Volkswagen models in China now reach.
Why VW Couldn't Respond
Volkswagen's joint-venture structure makes pivoting hard. The MEB platform debuted in China in 2021 with the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.6, competent cars but priced well above BYD equivalents with similar range. The ID series has sold a small fraction of BYD's NEV volume.
Where It Goes From Here
Volkswagen has announced it is partnering with XPeng on new China-specific electric cars and accelerating local R&D. AutoNergy's reading is that the gap is more likely to widen than narrow in the near term.
Watch the brand-share shift year-by-year on the China brand throne dashboard.