By Marcus Lu
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are gaining momentum, reaching 18% of global vehicle sales in 2023.
As new competitors bring more affordable options and new performance features, the market continues to mature as customers increasingly look to electric options.
This graphic ranks the top-selling EVs worldwide as of August 2023, based on data from CleanTechnica.
The Best Selling EVs in 2023 (Through August)
Below, we show the world’s best selling fully electric vehicles from January to August 2023:
| Model | Country | Vehicles Sold (Jan-Aug 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y |  U.S. |
772,364 |
| Tesla Model 3 | U.S. |
364,403 |
| BYD Atto 3 / Yuan Plus |  China |
265,688 |
| BYD Dolphin | China |
222,825 |
| GAC Aion S | China |
160,693 |
| Wuling HongGuang Mini EV | China |
153,399 |
| GAC Aion Y | China |
136,619 |
| VW ID.4 |  Germany |
120,154 |
| BYD Seagull | China |
95,202 |
As we can see, Tesla‘s Model Y still holds a comfortable lead over the competition with 772,364 units sold. That’s more than double the sales of the #2 top selling vehicle, Tesla’s Model 3 (364,403)
But it’s hard to ignore the rising prevalence of Chinese EVs. The next five best selling EV vehicles are Chinese, including three from BYD. The automaker’s Atto 3 (or Yuan Plus, depending on market), is being sold in various countries including Germany, the UK, Japan, and India.
Meanwhile, Chinese automaker GAC Group also had two models of its Aion EV brand make the rankings, with the Aion S selling 160,693 units so far.
Regional market strength is also clear. For Volkswagen’s ID.4 model (120,154 units sold), Europe and China account for the majority of sales.
Given growing cost efficiencies and changing consumer behavior, global EV sales are projected to make up half of new car sales globally by 2035, according to forecasts from Goldman Sachs.
NB: Marcus is a content strategist for Visual Capitalist, focusing primarily on economics and investing. Before joining Visual Capitalist, he worked in business development for a Canadian institutional asset manager.
