For a while now, Tesla and BYD have been constantly trading the number one spot for the most global electric vehicle (EV) sales. 

Based on the ranking above, BYD leads global EV sales at 1,249,405 units in the first five months of 2026. 

That figure is more than double Tesla’s 595,647. The data comes from CleanTechnica. 

More interestingly, BYD is struggling to maintain its domestic sales. But overseas sales are thriving. 

TL;DR

• BYD sold 1,249,405 electric vehicles globally between January and May 2026, more than double Tesla’s 595,647. 
• 11 of the top 20 global EV brands by sales volume are Chinese, collectively accounting for approximately 64% of the combined top-20 total

The 11-Brand Story

The bilateral BYD-Tesla narrative that has dominated EV coverage for several years understates what the CleanTechnica data actually shows.

Eleven of the top 20 EV brands by January-May 2026 sales are Chinese. They include: 

1. BYD
2. Geely
3. Leapmotor
4. Wuling
5. Li Auto
6. Xiaomi
7. Zeekr
8. MG
9. Aion
10. AITO
11. Xpeng

These 11 brands combined account for approximately 3.13 million units, or roughly 64% of the top-20 combined total. 

The competitive challenge for non-Chinese automotive companies is not overcoming BYD. It is competing simultaneously against 11 separate Chinese manufacturers operating across every price segment.

Leapmotor, founded in 2015, sold 263,111 EVs in the period. 

That places it fourth in the global ranking, ahead of Volkswagen (215,489), BMW (192,650), Toyota (176,749), Kia (169,019), Mercedes (150,208), Audi (138,006) and Hyundai (134,782). 

ALSO READ: Seven Years of EV Sales Data Reveal How BYD Finally Caught Tesla

BYD’s Domestic Contradiction

BYD’s domestic China sales fell 22% year-on-year in Q2 2026 as government subsidies that had underpinned China’s EV market for years began to fade, and as a broader property market slump compressed consumer purchasing power. 

Car sales in China are forecast to fall 11% this year.

What absorbed some of that domestic pressure was overseas expansion. 

BYD’s June overseas sales jumped 94.7% year-on-year to 175,349 vehicles. 

First-half overseas sales reached 792,256 units, up 70.7%, making it one of the company’s few genuine growth engines at a time when the home market is contracting.

Tesla (595,647) remains the most significant non-Chinese EV manufacturer by a substantial margin over Volkswagen (215,489), BMW (192,650) and Toyota (176,749). 

On a pure battery-electric vehicle basis (stripping out plug-in hybrids, which account for a meaningful portion of BYD’s aggregate total), BYD’s Q2 BEV figure was 557,090, against analyst consensus for Tesla of approximately 406,000. 

What Will Happen Before Year-End?

The January-May figures serve as a baseline for a market in transition. 

Chinese domestic demand is contracting under subsidy withdrawal. 

Eleven Chinese brands whose sales are heavily weighted toward the home market face a materially different demand environment in the second half of 2026. 

BYD’s overseas diversification is the strategic hedge. 

Whether the other 10 Chinese brands in the top 20 have export capacity comparable enough to cushion a domestic contraction is the question the record raises but cannot answer.

ALSO READ: Top EV Brands by Sales Volume in The US

ELI5 (Explain It Like I’m 5)

BYD, a Chinese car company, sold more than twice as many electric cars as Tesla from January to May 2026. 

But the bigger story is that 11 of the top 20 electric car brands in the world are Chinese.

Even a brand called Leapmotor, only founded in 2015, is selling more electric cars than Volkswagen or BMW. Xiaomi, which used to just make phones, is now outselling Mercedes in electric cars after only two years of making vehicles.

Source: 

CleanTechnica (January to May 2026. Sales volume by brand).