In 2023, 689.2 GWh was added to the electric car parc, an expansion of just under 200 GWh or 40% compared to 2022, according to Adamas Intelligence. More gigawatt-hours were deployed in 2023 than in the eight years from 2014 to 2021 combined.

There are almost 200 brands offering electric cars around the world. Most of them are Chinese and many with names few would have heard of outside their home market. The proliferation of EV brands is also indicative of Chinese automakers’ fondness for creating spin-off brands to cater to every possible segment and demographic, according to Adamas.

Adamas Intelligence compiled a ranking of the top brands in 2023 and out of the sixteen in the 10 GWh club, only six are Chinese, three of which only joined the top ranks for the first time last year.

Tesla was the clear world leader last year, supplying 132.1 GWh of pack power to buyers of its S, 3, X, Y models in 2023, a 37% jump compared to 2022. The Cybertruck, with its 122 kWh battery pack (and optional 47 kWh range extender), will likely account for a good chunk of Tesla’s 2024 power-hours as production and deliveries ramp up.

In second was BYD, which last year became the world’s top EV unit producer thanks to a sales mix that is almost half plug-in hybrid. However, with 101.6 GWh deployed last year, BYD still lagged well behind Tesla when it came to powering up new buyers of its vehicles.

In 2023, BYD upped its passenger EV battery capacity deployment by 51% year-over-year, but 93% of BYD’s GWh deployment last year was in China.

p>Ranked a distant third was GAC Aion, with 31.1 GWh.of fresh battery power delivered to buyers last year. Not far behind GAC Aion was VW with 30.3 GWh rolled out last year, up a modest 21% over 2022.

VW’s tally includes VW-badged vehicles sold in China manufactured in partnership with SAIC and FAW. Parent Volkswagen Group’s overall tally, when including its Skoda, Seat, Cupra, Porsche, Bentley, Audi and VW badges, was over 50 GWh in 2023.

Rounding off the top 5 last year was BMW with 29.1 GWh deployed globally, a 76% surge over 2022, far more power-hours than its traditional rivals Audi and Mercedes, which came in sixth and ninth, respectively.

Despite its mass market Mini-line underperforming its stablemates last year (hauling just 4% or 1.6GWh of BMW’s total onto roads), BMW said the year was the company’s EV tipping point.

The deployment growth of Li Auto and Toyota last year (both newcomers to the 10 GWh club) was the greatest among among peers at 189% and 104%, respectively. The booming performance of Li Auto and Toyota last year are made more remarkable by the fact that the Chinese carmaker only produces PHEVs while the Toyota sells almost exclusively HEVs.