BYD Dolphin Surf. Foto: BYD

Analysis of the electric car revolution: Chinese pass by

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has released its annual Global Automaker Rating, which shows that China-based automakers are building a significant lead in the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) market. This result reflects China’s leadership in the global transition to electric vehicles, where the country now sells over eleven million electric vehicles per year – more than half of global electric vehicle sales.

Chinese manufacturers have leveraged their huge domestic market to achieve economies of scale and advance technologies. Now they are gaining ground in global markets. Chinese automakers occupy the top five spots in ZEV class coverage and five of the top six spots in EV sales share. Companies such as Geely and SAIC have already achieved a 50% share of EV sales and are meeting their 2025 targets a year ahead of schedule.

Double challenges for the USA and Europe

This steady progress by Chinese manufacturers demonstrates the long-term strategic benefits of early and sustained investment in electrification. In contrast, car manufacturers in the USA and the EU are faced with the dual challenge of catching up technologically and at the same time mastering an increasingly uncertain regulatory environment. According to the ICCT analysis, manufacturers from Germany are losing ground in the transition to e-mobility. BMW fell from third to fifth place, Mercedes from fourth to seventh. The VW Group, which was still in fifth place in the ranking two years ago, is now only in eighth place, one place lower than a year ago. In contrast, manufacturers from China in particular were able to make gains: both the Volvo parent company Geely and the MG manufacturer SAIC overtook BMW and Mercedes and now occupy third and fourth place. Other Chinese brands, namely Chang’an, Chery and Great Wall, also improved significantly.

Key findings of the report include BYD overtaking Tesla in global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales for the first time in 2024, with a 25% increase in BEV sales and a 47% increase in combined BEV and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales compared to 2023. Both companies remain in the Leaders category of the rating. “Our assessment found that the performance of BEV technology has improved significantly across the industry,” said Zifei Yang, ICCT’s Global Passenger Vehicle Lead and lead author of the report. “The vast majority of automakers have achieved improvements in energy consumption, charging speed and range of BEVs sold in the market.

These gains have been driven by both the introduction of new high performance BEV models and market shifts towards more efficient, faster charging vehicles with greater range. GM and Honda have made significant progress by introducing high-performance models to their previously limited lineup, while companies such as Geely, Chang’an and Chery have made significant improvements with new high-performance EV lines.”

From laggard to pioneer: Tata Motors from India

An important milestone is that India-based Tata Motors has become the first major automaker to move from the “laggard” group to the “leader” group by introducing new electric car models and increasing efforts to recycle and reuse batteries in key markets. While Japan- and South Korea-based automakers continue to lag behind, Honda and Nissan have made significant progress, with Honda launching its first BEV model in the United States and Nissan clarifying its ZEV targets.

BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen: good performance with “green steel”

The report also highlights the increasing importance of manufacturing emissions in the transition to ZEVs. The newly introduced “green steel” metric assesses automakers’ efforts to reduce steel-related emissions, which are the largest contributor to vehicle manufacturing emissions after batteries. Automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen, which have shown a greater commitment to renewable energy in production, have also performed well in sourcing green steel.

“As China-based automakers expand globally, other leading global manufacturers are under urgent pressure to accelerate their own transition or risk losing their competitiveness,” said Drew Kodjak, president and CEO of the ICCT. “The rapid development of the EV market in China has given companies there a technological and manufacturing advantage. For the global automotive industry, it’s no longer just about meeting future targets – it’s about staying competitive in a charging market today.”

The ICCT’s Global Automaker Rating provides a data-driven analysis of automakers’ progress towards a zero-emission future, based on their current sales, technological performance and strategic commitments. The full report and detailed results for all 21 automakers are available on the ICCT website.

You can read this and other articles on the subject of electromobility & autonomous driving in the current issue of eMove360°. PDF download free of charge or order the handy and beautiful printed version in the online Shop.