Tesla Model Y hits 4 million global sales

18 March 2026

Despite falling sales, Tesla is proving that many people still want to buy its electric cars. The company announced this week that its popular Model Y has been the best-selling passenger vehicle in the world for three years in a row. The Model Y beat out every gasoline car, every hybrid, and every other electric model on the market to take the top spot. Since it first came out, Tesla has now sold more than 4 million of these electric SUVs across the globe.

The sales numbers from the past year show how much people rely on this specific model. In 2025, Tesla built a total of 1,654,667 vehicles and delivered 1,636,129 of them to customers. While Tesla makes several different types of cars, the Model Y does most of the heavy lifting. In China alone, this single model made up almost 68% of all the cars Tesla sold there throughout the year.

China plays a massive role in making these electric cars a success. Tesla's Giga Shanghai works around the clock and in 2025, that one factory delivered 851,732 vehicles. More than half of all Teslas sold worldwide - about 52% - came from that single location. When you look at the monthly data, the numbers get even more interesting. In February, Tesla sold 38,206 cars in China - a jump of over 42% compared to the same month the year before.

If you look closely at the February numbers for the Model Y in China, they are quite shocking. Sales for that model skyrocketed by 215.84% compared to the previous February. That is a lot of new SUVs hitting the road in just 30 days - 25,286 people in China picked up a new Model Y during that month. This surge helped Tesla grab a 13.74% share of the entire battery electric vehicle market in China, the highest percentage the company has seen in nearly two years.

But it hasn't all been easy for the American car company, though. The Model Y might be a global star, but it faced some tough times in the Chinese market over the last year. Total sales for the Model Y in China for the full year of 2025 reached 425,337 units. Even though that sounds like a large number, it was actually 34.44% lower than the year before. It turns out that being at the top makes you a very big target for the competition.

One of the big challenges came from a company people used to associate with smartphones. In January, the Model Y actually lost its title as the best-selling EV in China, with the Xiaomi YU7 SUV taking the crown for that month. This shows that even a world champion like Tesla has to keep an eye on the rearview mirror. New brands are popping up quickly, and they are offering buyers a lot of choices that didn't exist a few years ago.

When you include the cars that Tesla China sends to other countries, the numbers shift a little bit. The wholesale sales of the China-made Model Y reached 538,994 units in 2025. This was a drop of 3.18% from the previous year. It seems that while global demand is still very high, the market is becoming much more crowded. Tesla is no longer the only game in town, and they have to work harder to keep their lead against both old car companies and new tech giants.

Despite the heavy competition, reaching 4 million total sales is a massive milestone for any vehicle. The Model Y has managed to stay relevant and popular even as the car industry goes through big changes. Using data from experts at JATO Dynamics and Statista, Tesla is confident that their electric SUV is the king of the road. The Model Y remains the benchmark that every other car company is trying to beat in the race to go electric - the question is: for how much longer?

Via