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 |
