Volkswagen retakes the lead from BYD in China in January 2024

Volkswagen back on top in China in January 2024

The battle for leadership in China, the world’s largest car market, has intensified. After Volkswagen lost the top spot to BYD in 2023 - with BYD leading for the previous 11 months - the German manufacturer started 2024 strongly, finishing January as the best-selling brand.

In January, Volkswagen "dethroned" BYD from first place, registering almost 210,000 vehicles (+41.5% versus January 2023), compared with just over 191,000 for its rival (+43.4%).

Best-selling models in January 2024

Volkswagen’s top-selling model was the Lavida (pictured in the lead image), a C-segment three-box saloon built on the MQB platform (the same as the Golf), with 32,419 units. It was followed extremely closely by the BYD Song Plus, a compact SUV, on 32,267 units.

However, the single best-selling car in China in January 2024 was the Changan CS75 Plus, a compact SUV, with just over 40,000 units.

Top 10 of the best-selling brands in China

China’s market began 2024 with a sharp year-on-year increase of 57.4%, reaching 2.03 million units sold in January, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Even so, compared with December 2023, the figure represents a decline of 13.9%. This outcome can be linked to brands being "pressured" to hit annual sales targets in the final month of 2023.

It is also important to note that Chinese New Year fell in January 2023 - whereas this year it only took place on 10 February. As a result, many factories were shut last January. Consequently, total sales volume in 2024 rose by more than 50% compared with the previous year.

In February, given the impact of Chinese New Year, another month as positive is not expected. The CPCA is forecasting a decline in China’s automotive industry.

Alongside Volkswagen reclaiming first position, the other standout names among the 10 best-selling brands include Honda, which more than doubled its sales, as well as China’s Chery.

New energy vehicles continue to grow

As an additional note, the “new energy vehicles” segment - which includes plug-in hybrids and fully electric models - continues to expand in China, accounting for 33.8% of sales last month, a little over one third.

BYD remains dominant in the plug-in hybrid and fully electric markets, with a share of 34% and 26%, respectively. At this level, Volkswagen holds only a 4.2% share among fully electric vehicles, with 15,828 units sold.

Source: China Passenger Car Association