The Tesla Model Y, Geely Xingyue L, and BYD Song Plus claimed the top three best-selling SUV titles in the first quarter. In the first quarter of 2025, 2.501 million unit SUVs were sold in the domestic Chinese retail market, up 4.7% year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). In March alone, 948,000 unit SUVs were sold, up 16.5% year-on-year and 44.1% month-on-month.
Let’s take a closer look at the ranking below.
| Ranking | SUV Model | Q1 Retail Sales Volume | Y-on-Y Change |
| 1 | Tesla Model Y | 81,889 | -18.4% |
| 2 | Geely Xingyue L | 79,883 | 69.2% |
| 3 | BYD Song Plus | 65,603 | N/A |
| 4 | Changan CS75 Plus | 53,668 | -26.5% |
| 5 | BYD Song Pro DM-i | 51,542 | -9.2% |
| 6 | Toyota Frontlander | 46,715 | 6.8% |
| 7 | Chery Tiggo 8 | 45,624 | 16.5% |
| 8 | Li Auto Li L6 | 44,347 | N/A |
| 9 | Toyota RAV4 | 43,536 | 22.7% |
| 10 | Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i | 42,286 | N/A |
| 11 | Volkswagen Tiguan L | 41,632 | 11.7% |
| 12 | Geely Boyue L | 41,020 | 39.3% |
| 13 | Honda CR-V | 40,965 | -9.9% |
| 14 | Volkswagen Tayron | 40,469 | 39,4% |
| 15 | BYD Yuan Plus | 39,839 | -15.2% |
The Tesla Model Y finally regained the top spot it had lost for January and February with 48,200 units sold in March and claimed the overall top-selling SUV title in China for the first quarter.
The Geely Xingyue L was the best-selling gasoline-powered SUV model, ranking second in the overall quarterly sales of 79,883 units. In March, 23,800 units of the Geely Xingyue L were sold.
The BYD Song Plus offers both the DM-i plug-in hybrid and BEV variants, first launched in March 2021. Last July, the model’s cumulative sales exceeded one million units, making it “China’s first new energy SUV to achieve sales of one million units”, according to BYD.
At the same time, five joint venture brands made it to the top 15. Among them, GAC-Toyota performed the best, with 46,715 units and 43,536 units of the Toyota Frontlander and Toyota RAV4 sold, respectively, ranking sixth and ninth on the list.
Source: CPCA, Dongchedi, Sohu
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