The share is up on the 6.6 per cent stake held by Electrics in the first quarter of 2021. In 2019, Electrics sold 345,000 units, representing a growth of 334.8 per cent in three years.

By comparison, diesel vehicles slipped to 11.8 per cent of the global market.

UK business intelligence company JATO Dynamics said that while the surging demand for Electrics was beginning to have an impact on the market share of vehicles with traditional powertrains, petrol remains the dominant fuel type across all markets with 9.2 million units registered in 2022.

JATO analyst Felipe Munoz said: “Last year, OEMs were able to counterbalance supply issues by using the few available semiconductors to produce EVs, however these vehicles no longer seem to be immune to the current crisis.”

JATO said that in the first quarter, 17 million vehicles were registered in the 53 markets that it surveys.

Mr Munoz said the result was an eight per cent increase in vehicle sales compared with the same period in 2020, but down 16 per cent from the 20.3 million registered in 2019.

“While the industry rebounded strongly in 2021 as pandemic-imposed restrictions were eased, the combined impact of ongoing chip shortages, the worsening inflationary crisis, and the conflict in Ukraine are proving to be even more challenging for the industry,” he said.

“In the first quarter of 2021 there were significant declines across key markets. In the US, new vehicle registrations totalled 3.31 million – a decrease of 16 per cent compared with 2021, while registrations also decreased in Europe’s big-five markets: Germany (down 5%), UK (down 6%), France (down 19%), Italy (down 23%), and Spain (down 16%).

“During the pandemic, China was driving growth helping to offset declines in the West, however the reintroduction of lockdowns has so far stifled demand in 2022.

“In other markets, the difficulties faced by the industry can be seen on the supply side caused by a lack of available new vehicles and shortages of key components – directly or indirectly affected by the conflict in Ukraine.”

JATO reported that some countries recorded growth in the first quarter – including Chile (up 39%), South Africa (up 18%), and Southeast Asia (up 17%) – but that the current crisis was expected to impact these markets later in 2022.

In the vehicle segments, JATO said SUVs were the leading sector and now account for 43 per cent of the global sales mix. This is up from 41 per cent in 2021.

“The increasing popularity of these vehicles comes at the expense of sedans, the market share of which fell from 21 per cent in Q1 2021 to 19 per cent in the first three months of this year,” Mr Munoz said.

“Hatchbacks maintained a market share of 17 per cent due to continued demand in Europe and some developing markets. 

“Pickup trucks (utes) continue to be a favourite among consumers in the US, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa while the market share of wagons and MPVs continued to fall.”

Toyota still leads the rankings of the OEMs with almost 14 per cent of the total market share – up 0.7 per cent compared with 2021. 

Toyota secured first and second place with the RAV-4 and Corolla, registering 247,781 and 243,820 units respectively.

Volkswagen Group followed in second place; however, its market share fell from 12.4 per cent to 10.7 per cent.

JATO said this slip was attributed mainly to high levels of exposure to the Chinese market where demand had dropped. 

“Thanks to its EV offering and strong position in several markets, Hyundai-Kia continued to perform well securing third position in the ranking of OEMs by market share, with 8.7 per cent,” Mr Munoz said.

“Despite the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, China’s OEMs emerged as the leaders in market share gains, with an increase of 2.3 per cent in Q1 2022. 

“China’s leading manufacturers are beginning to gain a foothold in markets such as South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia thanks to the competitiveness and affordability of their EV offering.

“It is still however unclear how quickly these OEMs will increase their presence in Europe and the US, and how these markets will act in response.”

Mr Munoz said Tesla was the second most successful OEM in terms of increased market share in China. 

“While the US manufacturer has faced difficulties in meeting demand, the Model 3 and Model Y have been hugely popular and continued growth is expected,” he said.

“In the rankings by model, two Teslas entered the top-10 for the first time. The Model Y secured an impressive fifth position with 153,246 registered units, ahead of the Model 3 in eighth position with 132,140 units. 

“In 2021, the Model 3 was the ninth best-selling car in the full year global rankings – this was the first time an EV entered the top 10.” 

Mr Munoz said that in contrast to Tesla, SAIC–General Motors lost market share (down 1.1 per cent) due to decreased demand in China, while the market share for Renault – Nissan – Mitsubishi also decreased (down 0.8 per cent) due to its strong presence in the Russian market. 

“Stellantis and Ford also lost market share recording drops of 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively,” he said.

Mr Munoz said that in 2021, the majority of OEMs sold fewer vehicles but were still able to increase their profitability because of the huge uptick in demand that followed the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. 

“While OEMs are now operating in different economic conditions, many are using the current crisis as an opportunity to improve their offering and increase prices – BMW Group, Hyundai-Kia, Mercedes, Tesla, and Volkswagen all saw an increase in profits in Q1 of this year,” he said.

“This trend does not however apply to OEMs that are heavily exposed to developing markets where consumers are more sensitive to price increases – Ford, General Motors, Suzuki, and Toyota all posted losses while selling few vehicles.”

By Neil Dowling