The world's electric car sales maintained the growth momentum in January, with registrations rising 87 percent year-on-year to over 603,000 units. Chinese market remained the main driver of the acceleration, representing almost two-thirds of all global sales in January, data from EV news and analysis site CleanTechnica showed.

Chinese EV maker BYD won the monthly manufacturer title, thanks to its 93,263 registrations coming from its expanding lineup, the report said.

Tesla ranked second by selling 51,302 units, also a sales record of its own.

China's SGMW grabbed the third place with 32,074 registrations. BMW and Volkswagen took the fourth and fifth spots by delivering 23,728 and 23,571 units, respectively.

Chinese EV startups also shined, as three of them jumped into the top 20 pool. Xpeng (12,986 units), Li Auto (12,268 units), and Hozon (11,010 units) secured the 17th to 19th spots, indicating they are expanding in lineups and capacities.

As to the top 20 table, there were only two Chinese electric models in the table two years ago, but the number surged to 17 in January. The three foreign EV makers – Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, and Volkswagen ID.4 – can be considered honorary Chinese EVs, CleanTechnica said, as a large share of their production occurs in China.

BYD contributed seven models to the top 20 table, with four of them setting new sales record. BYD Qin Plus PHEV ranked third with a record 18,449 registrations, followed by the BYD Song PHEV, also with a record performance at 16,415 units.

The BYD Dolphin model ramped up to 10,602 units, while the BYD Tang PHEV scored a record 8,853 registrations, grabbing the 14th spot, the report said.