China’s electric car boom is increasingly linked to hybrids

BEIJING — Cars with hybrid engines are proving more popular than battery-only cars in China, even as consumers move away from gas-only vehicles, full-year data show.

BYDdefinitely the market leader, said in a filing on Wednesday in 2024, about 4.3 million passenger cars were sold. Almost 2.5 million of those cars were hybrid-powered, which compares to 2023, when BYD sold slightly fewer hybrid cars than battery-only cars.

Teslawhich sells battery-only vehicles, plans to sell more than 600,000 vehicles in China for the second straight year, according to CNBC calculations based on data from the China Automobile Association. Elon Musk’s car company is expected to release 2,024 figures in the US on Thursday morning.

“We’re still seeing growth in the Chinese market in terms of electric batteries, but we’re seeing that as something of a limitation,” said Joe McCabe, president and CEO of AutoForecast Solutions. He predicts that until 2031, there will still be a demand for cars with internal combustion engines, including hybrid cars.

Next to Tesla Lee Carrwith a record 500,508 car deliveries last yearthe company said in a statement on Wednesday. Most of the company’s vehicles come with a fuel tank to increase the range of the battery.

Star“Chinese partner, Jump enginewhich sells both battery and hybrid vehicles, said delivered nearly 300,000 vehicles in 2024and aims to deliver 500,000 next year.

Chinese electric vehicle startups, which until now only sold battery-powered cars, ranked lower in terms of shipments for the entire year. Manufacturer of electric vehicles Sec 222,123 battery-powered cars were sold, Nio sold 221,970 and Xpeng 190,068 sold.

The final results for Nio and Xpeng for the year include figures for the companies’ low-cost brands that started shipping in the second half of 2024.

Xpeng unveiled its own in November hybrid range extender systemand Zeekr in August announced plans to launch its first hybrid car in 2025.

Electric car brands faced tougher competition last year when smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its Electric sedan SU7 in March. By the end of December, Xiaomi said it had already delivered more than 135,000 cars and set a target of delivering 300,000 cars in 2025.

Zeekr has set a target of 320,000 shipments by 2025, after narrowly missing its stated target is 230,000 cars of 2024.

China’s push to develop its own electric vehicles reached a turning point in July: a share of new energy vehicles sold they account for more than half of all passenger cars sold this monthaccording to the passenger car association. New energy vehicles include battery-only vehicles and hybrid vehicles.

This trend continued until November, in which a penetration 52.3%as evidenced by the data of the association. In July 2023, the penetration rate was 36%.

Looking at the market’s growth, it’s important to remember that China still has plenty of incentives for locals to buy new energy vehicles, McCabe said. He added that the pressure on the market is part of China’s efforts to build up domestic players instead of relying on foreign brands.

Cities like Beijing are making it easier for residents to get license plates for new energy vehicles rather than gasoline-powered cars. Part of China’s efforts to boost consumption in recent months has focused on subsidizing the purchase of new energy vehicles.

Hybrids also led U.S. passenger car sales in the second quarter, resulting in a combined penetration of hybrid and battery electric vehicles up to 18.7%according to Wards Intelligence, published by the US Energy Information Administration.