BYD Seal leads electric vehicle sales in Malaysia in July, beating Tesla Model 3 – three BYD models in YTD top five

Sales of all-electric vehicles in Malaysia look set to surpass 2023 before the year ends, with new passenger vehicle sales now approaching 12,000 units after seven months, based on registration data from the Land Transport Department (JPJ). Last year, EV sales in the country totaled 13,257 units.

Based on performance to date, sales numbers should reach expectations. Zero Emission Vehicle Association (ZEVA) Earlier this year, it was estimated that electric vehicle sales would reach 19,000 to 20,000 units this year.

Overall, JPJ data shows a total of 12,547 electric vehicles were registered through July, although this figure also includes commercial trucks/vans and refurbished vehicles, not just new passenger cars.

In the larger scheme of things, sales of electric vehicles – both battery electric vehicles and hybrids – will make up a significant portion of the industry’s total volume this year. Earlier this year, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz pointed out that sales of all types of electric vehicles, including hybrids, had reached nearly 11,000 units in the first three months of 2024.

By June, that number had risen to 22,501 units, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) announced last month. The association also reported that 6,617 full electric vehicles were sold in the first half of 2024 (January to June), but this figure does not include sales data from Tesla, which is not a member of the MAA (Mercedes has also long been stopped reporting numbers for the association).

Adding in the number of Tesla vehicles in the first half of the year (3,079, according to JPJ registrations) brings !H’s sales to 9,696 vehicles, which when added to the best-selling electric vehicles in July (as shown below) is more or less equivalent to the sales figures shown for the 20 highest-selling vehicles from January to July.

Within the spectrum, JPJ data lists all registrations and therefore provides quite a bit of insight into which models are most popular. We decided to take a closer look, listing sales by model for the previous month (July) as well as for the year to date (seven months).

A few things to note. We’ve kept the top 20 EVs in order for clarity, and for the most part they’re truly dominant in their segments. Additionally, a few entries feature double the number of models under the same nameplate. There’s a reason for that.

JPJ’s input data isn’t always clearly deciphered – for example, you’ll notice that GWM Ora’s numbers include both Ora Good Cat And Day 07 in. That’s because the input data only lists the registration simply as Ora, with the body color and vehicle type (electric) as well as the registration date (if available, as some of this information is removed) as the only identifiers.

Likewise, smart #1 And #3where we freely pair them in the table, since they cannot be specifically identified due to the way the data for them is entered.

With that out of the way, let’s start with July. The month saw 1,787 electric vehicles registered and topping the sales charts was BYD Sealwith 298 units in the month surpassed Tesla Model 3 upgrade (273 units). Two other BYD models are being sold here, Episode 3 And Dolphincontinued to perform well, ranking third and fourth with 249 units and 155 units respectively.

The Ora models mentioned above place GWM in fifth place, but it is almost certain that BMW iX2 was the stronger performer in July, considered in a head-to-head match. Meanwhile, MG served 75 units of its MG4 for buyers last month and during reception Tesla Model Y slowed in July, which is not too surprising, given the talk of Juniper upgrade.

In terms of total volume for the first seven months of the year, the top 20 best-selling models sold a total of 11,741 units. The Seal, which was launched in Malaysia in February, topped the chart with 2,062 units, followed by the Atto 3 with 1,990 units.

As for the two Tesla models, the Model Y (1,794 units) remained in the lead through July, coming in third, but is likely to be overtaken by the Model 3 (1,599 units) if sales continue to be weak.

The fifth best-selling electric car of the year was the BYD Dolphin (1,018 units) and it looks set to hold that position until the end of the year, outselling Chery Omoda E5 (429 units), had a very gloomy July when sales decreased 72% compared to June.

Elsewhere, BMW seems to be doing quite well as a brand in the electric car race, as shown by its numbers. i5 (235 units), iX2 (215 units), i4 (165 units), i7 (162 units) and I (154 units), while Lotus and Porsche look set to compete fiercely in the electric car space by the end of the year.

Who will be on top come the end of 2024? There are still five months to go before the whistle blows, but barring a major shake-up, BYD looks set to come out on top in terms of brands, with a total of three models (5,070 units) outselling every other rival so far.

Things are a little tighter on a model-by-model basis, but Seal is in a good place. More importantly, the numbers it has managed so far this year show a continued path towards electrification, even if real, significant growth in both volume and range is still to come.

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