Which Tesla model was the best-selling plug-in electric car globally in 2021?

The Tesla Model 3 was the world’s best-selling plug-in electric car in 2021.

The Model 3’s 2021 global total was reported at about 500,713 vehicles, placing it ahead of the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV and Tesla’s own Model Y. It was the fourth consecutive year in which the Model 3 held the global plug-in sales crown, following its rise in 2018.

Introduced in 2017, the Model 3 was designed to bring Tesla technology to a broader market than the premium-priced Model S and Model X. Production expanded beyond Fremont, California, when Gigafactory Shanghai began building Model 3 cars in late 2019 for China and export markets.

The Model 3 also passed one million cumulative global sales in June 2021, becoming the first electric car to reach that milestone. The Model Y later overtook it as the annual global leader, but that happened after 2021, so the Model Y is not the answer for this question.