There is no doubt that electric vehicles are the fastest growing automotive market in the world. In 2022, there were a few unexpected names among the best-selling electric vehicles. These figures indicate what types of vehicles have been bought by electric vehicle consumers globally and what types of electric vehicles will be popular in the market including India in the future.
Superstar Tesla
The first two positions in electric car sales are owned by Tesla models. Tesla's Model 3 was the best-selling electric car in 2021. But in 2022, the first place was taken by Tesla's own Model Y. Sales growth of the Model Y was 91% compared to last year. Tesla sold 7,47,500 Model Y cars in 2022. The Model 3 comes second globally with 4,82,200 cars sold. However, the sales of the Model 3 were down 3% compared to the previous year.
The rise of Chinese models
China's Wuling Hongguang Mini EV ranked third in the list of best-selling electric cars last year. The arrival of this baby car is revolutionizing the Chinese electric car market. About 4,43,400 Wuling Hongguang Mini EVs were sold in 2022. The sales of this Chinese small car are not far behind the sales of the Model 3. There is a high possibility that similar small electric cars will make waves in the future in car markets, including India.
Two models of another Chinese company, BYD, are at the fourth and fifth positions. The BYD Dolphin at the fourth position sold 2,05,200 cars. The Dolphin achieved a growth of 916% compared to the previous year. BYD's new model, the Yuan Plus/Atto 3, sold 1,80,600 units. BYD's Qin (1,63,400) is in seventh place and Han (1,16,500) is in tenth place.
European electric cars
The best-selling electric car in Europe last year was the Volkswagen ID.4. About 1,75,600 lakh ID.4 vehicles were sold in 2022, registering a growth rate of 53% compared to the previous year. China-Hong Kong-Taiwan market witnessed the highest sales of this European vehicle. The ID.4 sold 39% in Europe and 13% in the US-Canada market. Volkswagen's own ID.3 sold 77,900 units last year. The Fiat 500 is the third best-selling car in Europe. The other top European electric cars that sold the most were the BMW iX3, Polestar 2, Skoda Enyaq, Dacia Spring, Peugeot 208, Mini Hatch and Volvo XC40 BEV.
