Can Volkswagen Group overtake Tesla in the Plug-in battery-electric category this year?

Volkswagen Group almost overtook Tesla Inc in the overall sales of the global plug-in electric cars (BEV+PHEVs) category.

Although the electric cars giant has bagged the number 1 spot for both the all electric battery cars (BEV) and the BEV+PHEVs categories, nevertheless, Volkswagen Group is not far behind.

According to figures released by EV Sales Blog, Tesla has sold 499,535 units of BEV+PHEVs, last year, while second placed Volkswagen Group recorded a total of 421,591 units, just 77,944 units behind. This translates to Tesla holds 16 percent market share and Volkswagen Group commanded 13 percent. 

In fact, Volkswagen Group was in the first position during the fourth quarter, with 191,000 units sold compared to Tesla’s 183,000. With a taste of first place, will Volkswagen Group be able to overtake Tesla in the BEV-PHEV category this year?

The total top 5 BEV-PHEV sales has recorded 1.61 million units in 2020. While Tesla and Volkswagen Group secured the top two spots, Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor Corp Ltd came in third with 272,210 units sold, ahead of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance with 226,975 units and fifth position BMW Group with 195,979 units.

As for the BEV category, Tesla not only comes in first place with 499,535 units sold and 23 percent market share (twice as high a result compared to SAIC), but the company also managed to sustain its market share. 

Meanwhile, SAIC and Volkswagen Group came in at second and third place with the same 11 percent market share, at 243,201 and 227,394, respectively. They are followed by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance at 172,673 with an 8 percent market share and BYD at 131,705 with a 6 percent market share.

With such intense competition in the electric cars segment, more products introduced by its competitors and more companies considering to produce electric cars, will Tesla still be able to remain at the first place in 2021? Tell us what you think!