EVs Take 32% of Global Sales as Tesla Model Y Sets Record

The global car market just got a lot more electric. Plug-in vehicle registrations climbed 3% year over year in September, landing at roughly 2.16 million units — a whisker under the all-time record of 2.17 million set last December. Battery electrics did the heavy lifting, hitting a record 1.54 million registrations, according to CleanTechnica.

That puts plug-ins at 32% of global sales for the month, near an all-time high. BEVs alone took 23%, while plug-in hybrids made up the rest. The split tells the real story: BEV registrations jumped 8% year over year, their best showing yet. PHEVs slid 9%, and they're dragging on the wider market.

Across the year so far, that drag is the whole story. Overall plug-in growth sits at a modest 4%, with PHEVs down 10%. Strip them out and BEVs are up 12%, back on a normal track. Year-to-date EV share now stands at 25%, with BEVs at 18% and PHEVs at 7%.

The Tesla Model Y ran away with September. It notched an all-time record of 165,000 units on 17% growth, helped along by the larger six-seat version. The Model 3 took second with 65,000 deliveries, despite slipping 4% year over year, edging past both Geely's Xingyuan hatchback and the BYD Song.

The BYD Song may have dropped to fourth, but it grew faster than anything else in the top five. It rose 19% to 54,519 registrations, powered by exports to Brazil, Italy and Germany plus a new-generation Ultra body. Flash charging could make it a genuine threat to the Model Y in slower months. Geely's Starray also surprised, landing 19th with 15,761 units, its best in 20 months.

Beyond the top 20, MG's new 07 fastback arrived with a bang — more than 14,000 units in its first month. Chery's QQ3, Xpeng's L03, BYD's Great Tang and Leapmotor's A05 all ramp up behind it. At brand level, Tesla hit a record 232,000 units, and Toyota racked up a fourth straight record with 61,332 registrations, again besting Volkswagen for the legacy crown.