The Era of Dominance for Chinese Electric Vehicles! Morgan Stanley's April Global Electric Vehicle Market Statistics: BYD and Geely Rank First and Second, Tesla's Market Share Declines
Morgan Stanley stated that in April 2025, global sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 38% year-on-year to 1.0797 million units, with the Chinese market contributing over 60% of the sales, growing at a year-on-year rate of 51%. BYD continues to lead with a 17% market share. Tesla's sales decreased by 17% year-on-year, and its global market share significantly dropped from 10.7% to 7.9%
Chinese brands are dominating the global electric vehicle market.
According to the news from Chasing Wind Trading Platform, Morgan Stanley's latest data on the global electric vehicle market for April shows that in April 2025, global sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 38% year-on-year to 1.0797 million units, with the Chinese market contributing over 60% of the sales, a year-on-year growth rate of 51%.
In the report titled "Global Electric Vehicle Tracking: The Era of Chinese Electric Vehicle Dominance," Morgan Stanley pointed out that in April, BYD and Geely ranked first and second in sales, while Tesla's sales dropped to fourth place, with its global market share declining from 10.7% in the same period last year to 7.9%.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas noted in the report that the global electric vehicle market is experiencing a "China-dominated era." This is not merely a simple cyclical adjustment in the market, but a fundamental restructuring of the industry landscape. Chinese brands are not only fully suppressing traditional giants in terms of sales but have also established insurmountable moats in technological innovation and cost control.
Systematic Victory of Chinese Electric Vehicles
According to Morgan Stanley's tracked sales data report for the global electric vehicle market in April 2025, this represents a systematic victory for Chinese electric vehicles in terms of sales from various regions, rankings of electric vehicle manufacturers, best-selling electric vehicle models, and battery technology.
By region:
The Chinese market performed the best, with sales reaching 662,500 units, a 51% increase year-on-year, and the penetration rate rising from 22.4% in the same period last year to 30.2%.
The European market had sales of 214,300 units, a 30% increase year-on-year, with a penetration rate of 19.9%.
In contrast, the American market showed weak performance, with sales of 95,400 units, a 4% decrease year-on-year, and the penetration rate dropping from 7.4% last year to 6.5%.
The report also pointed out that there were significant changes in the rankings of global electric vehicle manufacturers in April. Among them:
BYD continued to lead with sales of 181,000 units and a 17% market share, a year-on-year growth of 40%
Geely Auto performed outstandingly, with sales of 100,800 units and a market share of 9%, a significant increase from 39,400 units in the same period last year.
General Motors, with its joint venture vehicle Wuling Hongguang Mini, ranked third with sales of 96,000 units.
Tesla faces significant challenges, with April sales of 84,800 units, a year-on-year decline of 17%, and its global market share plummeting from 10.7% in the same period last year to 7.9%.
The report states that even in its home market of the United States, Tesla's share has dropped from 46.0% last year to 41.0%. According to Motor Intelligence data, this figure further deteriorated to 43.6% in May.
Moreover, traditional American automakers have also shown disappointing performance in their electrification transformation, with Ford Mustang Mach-E global sales at only 4,132 units and F-150 Lightning at just 2,197 units.
In the global best-selling electric vehicle rankings, Tesla Model Y still ranks first with 57,200 units sold, but BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini follows closely with 37,800 units.
It is noteworthy that several models in the top 20 come from Chinese brands, including Wuling Hongguang Mini, Geely Geometry Star Wish, and Xiaomi SU7.
In terms of battery technology, Chinese manufacturers also hold a competitive advantage. The report states that global battery deployment reached 66,800 MWh in April, a year-on-year increase of 32%.
Morgan Stanley also pointed out that the share of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries increased from 35% last year to 44%, while the share of ternary lithium (NMC) batteries decreased from 54% to 47%. This change reflects the strategic advantages of Chinese companies in cost control and technology route selection
