This article archives CleanTechnica · Top Selling Electric Vehicles in the World — May 2026 by José Pontes (published 2026-07-01). Reporting period: May 2026. Structured data: data/world-ev-sales-may-2026-snapshot.json. Bookmark rails below stay noindex; this URL is indexable editorial.
Headlines: BEVs +15% YoY, PHEVs -15% (five months in the red); Model Y 93,571 units #1; Leapmotor #4 in May, YTD past Volkswagen; +39% global EV growth ex-China & USA.
Global market & Top 20 tables
Top Selling Electric Vehicles in the World — May 2026 · period May 2026 · archived 2026-07-07. Source: CleanTechnica article (José Pontes / CleanTechnica). ~1,700,000 plugin registrations in May (+4% YoY); BEVs 71% of plugins. Charts: Top 20 models · data table.
Global market overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Plugin registrations (May) | 1,700,000 (+4%) |
| BEV YoY / PHEV YoY | +15% / -15% |
| BEV share of plugins (May / YTD) | 71% / 70% |
| BEV market share (May / 2026 YTD) | 19% / 16% |
| PEV market share (May / 2026 YTD) | 26% / 22% |
| EV YoY ex-China & USA (May) | +39% (BEV +47%) |
| BEV registrations YTD | 5,200,000 |
Best-selling models — May (excerpt)
| # | Model | Registrations | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 93,571 | +16% |
| 2 | Geely Xingyuan / EX2 | 46,483 | +20% |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 44,237 | +28% |
| 4 | BYD Song / Seal U | 43,063 | -18% |
| 5 | BYD Yuan Up / Atto 2 | 33,298 | — |
| 6 | BYD Seagull / Dolphin Mini | 29,465 | — |
| 7 | Xiaomi SU7 | 24,023 | — |
| 8 | Leapmotor A10 3rd month on market | 22,306 | — |
| 10 | AITO M6 3rd month on market | 18,000 | — |
| 12 | MG 4 Record month | 20,054 | — |
| 13 | Wuling Mini EV | 18,330 | — |
| 16 | BYD Sealion 05 | 17,000 | — |
| 17 | Changan Qiyuan Q05 | 16,474 | — |
| 18 | Xpeng Mona M03 | 14,000 | — |
| 19 | Wuling Bingo | 13,800 | — |
Excerpt of models with disclosed May registrations or ranks; no legacy OEM in the Top 20. See CleanTechnica charts for the full table.
Brands — May (excerpt)
| # | Brand | Registrations | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYD | — | — |
| 2 | Tesla | — | +20% |
| 3 | Geely | — | — |
| 4 | Leapmotor | 81,000 | — |
| 5 | SAIC | — | — |
| 10 | Zeekr | 34,377 | — |
| 17 | Hyundai | 31,000 | — |
| 20 | Changan Qiyuan | 29,264 | — |
YTD brand movements
- #1 BYD — Podium unchanged
- #2 Tesla — Podium unchanged
- #3 Geely — Podium unchanged
- #4 Leapmotor — Surpassed BMW, Volkswagen
- #6 Wuling — Up thanks to Bingo + Mini EV
- #11 Xiaomi — Surpassed Mercedes
- #16 Hyundai — IONIQ 5 strong in USA
- #18 AITO — M6 wave
OEM plugin share (May)
| # | OEM | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYD | 19% |
| 2 | Geely | 10.1% |
| 3 | Tesla | 8.1% |
| 4 | Volkswagen Group | 7.6% |
| 5 | SAIC | 6.6% |
| 6 | Hyundai–Kia | 4.2% |
| 7 | Chery | 4.1% |
| 8 | Changan | 3.9% |
| 9 | Leapmotor | 3.6% |
| 11 | Toyota | 2.8% |
OEM BEV share (YTD)
| # | OEM (BEV) | YTD share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYD | 13.1% |
| 2 | Tesla | 11.5% |
| 3 | Geely | 8.9% |
| 4 | Volkswagen Group | 6.9% |
| 5 | SAIC | 6.4% |
| 6 | Hyundai–Kia | 4.8% |
Outside Top 20: best legacy models
| Model | Registrations |
|---|---|
| Toyota bZ4X Best-selling legacy OEM model | 11,119 |
| BMW iX1 / X1 PHEV | 10,746 |
| Hyundai IONIQ 5 ~5,000 in USA in May | 10,478 |
BEVs rising, PHEVs in the red
Global plugin registrations reached ~1.7 million in May (+4% YoY). BEVs grew +15% while PHEVs fell -15% — the first five consecutive monthly declines for PHEVs since 2019. YTD plugins are only +2%, dragged by PHEVs (-11% YTD) while BEVs run +9% YTD.
In May, BEVs were 71% of plugin sales (~1.2M units). YTD split: 70% BEV / 30% PHEV, near the upper bound of BEV plugin share since 2014.
China & USA drag; rest of world surges
US incentive expiry (Oct 2025) and partial China incentive rollback (end 2025) weigh on the #1 and #3 EV markets. Excluding China and the USA, global EVs +39% YoY in May; BEVs +47%. May market share: BEVs 19%, all plugins 26%. 2026 YTD: BEVs 16%, PHEVs 6%, plugins 22%.
Best-selling models — May
No legacy OEM models in the Top 20. Tesla Model Y led with 93,571 (+16%). Geely Xingyuan / EX2 ~46,483 (+20%) in 2nd; Model 3 44,237 (+28%) in 3rd. BYD Song 4th despite -18% YoY; Yuan Up / Atto 2 5th; Leapmotor A10 8th in its third month.
Highlights: MG 4 record 20,054 (#12); Wuling Mini EV 18,330 (#13); AITO M6 ~18k in month 3; returns include Sealion 05, Mona M03, Wuling Bingo. Best legacy model outside Top 20: Toyota bZ4X (11,119).
YTD brands & OEM share
YTD models: Model Y sells ~2× the #2 Xingyuan. Five BYDs in the YTD top 10; Xiaomi places two models in the Top 20. YTD brands: Leapmotor 4th — past BMW and Volkswagen; Wuling 6th; Xiaomi 11th past Mercedes.
OEM plugin share (May): BYD 19%, Geely 10.1%, Tesla 8.1% ahead of VW Group 7.6%. BEV YTD ~5.2M units; BEV OEM: BYD 13.1%, Tesla 11.5%, Geely 8.9%.