Tesla has had an impressive year so far, breaking delivery records in the first and second quarters. Those strong sales have helped propel the automaker to the top of the global electric vehicle (EV) sales chart for the first half of 2021, and the competition wasn’t even close.
According to figures from CleanTechnica, the Model 3 accumulated 243,753 sales in the first six months of the year, representing 9.6% of all EV sales. That was more than enough to put it in first place in global EV sales and ahead of the sub-$5,000 Wuling Mini EV, which sold 181,810 units in the same time period.
Interestingly, Tesla has sold roughly the same number of Model 3 vehicles in each of the last three quarters – 127,000 in Q4 2020; 127,000 in Q1 2021; 117,000 in Q2 2021. As noted by the publication, this could suggest demand for the electric sedan may have plateaued.
Part of that demand could be shifting to the Model Y. The electric SUV sits in third place, amassing 138,401 sales, or 5.4% of all EV sales from January to June.
The next closest competitors were the BYD Han EV and Volkswagen ID.4 with almost identical sales volumes of 38,667 and 38,499 respectively.
Tesla’s strong showing was helped by a particularly strong performance in June where more than 70,000 Model 3s and nearly 37,000 Model Ys were sold around the world.
But it wasn’t just Tesla that saw increasing sales in June. As a whole, the global EV market grew by 153% compared to the same month in 2020. More than 583,000 units were sold in the month, or 8.7% of the overall auto market.
