The new EV world order: tiny Wuling Mini EV beats Tesla Model Y in global sales race

October 2025 proved that size - and even a familiar brand name - doesn't always win the day. Global sales of plug-in vehicles grew by 10% compared to October 2024, with over 1.9 million registrations. The top spot for best-selling model went to a tiny Chinese vehicle, the Wuling Mini EV, which pushed the mighty Tesla Model Y out of first place. This is a major change in the EV market, where affordable, compact cars from China are starting to dominate the sales charts.

The Wuling Mini EV, a micro-car popular in China, logged a record-breaking month with 61,515 units sold. The Tesla Model Y, on the other hand, saw its sales drop by 37% year-over-year to 53,320 units. Its smaller sibling, the Tesla Model 3, landed at a disappointing 14th place with only 19,961 units, a 25% drop from the previous year and its worst sales month in over three years. This major slide for Tesla EVs traces back to a "hangover" effect in the US market, which saw registrations drop nearly 50% year-over-year in October. China also slowed down, only growing 7% year-over-year, though Europe (+38%) and the Rest of the World (+35%) picked up the slack, with markets like Turkiye (+157%) and Indonesia (+101%) showing massive growth.

The slowdown in China also revealed a split in the plug-in vehicle market. While pure BEVs grew, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) fell globally by 5% to around 600,000 units, mostly dragged down by an 11% year-over-year fall in China. If you take China out of the picture, PHEVs would have actually grown by 19% year-over-year, suggesting the hybrid technology is losing favor in its largest market but still has room to expand in other parts of the world. Overall, battery electric cars made up 19% of the global auto market in October (28% when you include PHEVs).

Looking past the top spot, the rest of the sales chart tells a story of Chinese dominance. Below the Wuling and Tesla models, the third place went to the Geely Xingyuan with over 44,000 registrations. The BYD had seven models ranked between fourth and eleventh. New players also made noise. Xiaomi's new YU7 SUV immediately grabbed 7th place with over 33,000 registrations in its production ramp-up. Even new models from established Chinese automakers, like the Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 SUV from BYD's premium brand, broke into the top 20 with 20,000 registrations in only its second month on the market.

This Chinese surge is reflected in the brand rankings. For the first time in years, the global EV podium featured only Chinese brands, with Tesla completely missing the top three. While BYD remained in the lead with a 22.2% market share (down 0.1% from September), Geely soared into second place with 127,000 registrations, and Wuling followed close behind with its first-ever six-digit month, hitting 102,000 registrations. Tesla, which delivered about 76,000 vehicles, fell to its worst month since July 2022, down 36% year-over-year. Smaller Chinese brands like Leapmotor (70,000 registrations) also posted record sales, and their strong push into export markets - like Israel and Poland - shows that this is a global movement, not just a domestic one.

The long-term outlook suggests the competition will only get tougher for veteran automakers. Tesla Model Y and BYD Song will likely hold the top two spots in year-to-date sales for 2025, but the Model 3's position is under threat from the Geely Xingyuan. In 2026, the Geely hatchback is expected to surpass the Model 3, and by 2027, Tesla's compact sedan may even be knocked off the top-selling EV list completely by models like the Wuling Mini EV and BYD Seagull.

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