(Yicai) Oct. 3 -- Chinese brands accounted for 62.19 percent of the gross sales of electric vehicles (EV) in Israel in the first three quarters of 2023, showed statistics issued by the Israel Vehicle Importers Association yesterday.

As many as 25,902 of 41,647 units sold between January and September were Chinese brands, while last year, Chinese carmakers sold 13,294 units, accounting for 48 percent of the annual EV sales in Israel.

Chinese carmaker BYD stood as the best-selling EV brand so far this year by selling 13,481 cars during the first nine months. Most of them the subcompact crossover SUV Atto 3.

Meanwhile, BYD was also in fourth place in Israel's overall car sales rankings which include both gasoline and electric cars.

Another Chinese carmaker, Geely Auto Group, sold a total of 6,180 Geometry C compact crossovers in the first three quarters, holding second place in EV sales in Israel.

The figure marks a 45.28 percent year-over-year increase in Geely's sales in Israel after it sold 4,254 electric cars in same period last year.

Tesla, the American automaker, secured the third position by selling 5,463 electric vehicles, while Hyundai Motor of South Korea closely followed with 4,099 electric cars sold.

Regarding the sales of gasoline-powered cars, Chery Automobile, a Chinese automaker that entered the Israeli market in late 2022, ranked the seventh with 10,314 cars sold in the first three quarters.