Chinese Automakers Hit Record 11.7% Market Share in EU

Chinese automakers sold 97,639 passenger vehicles in the European Union in August 2026, a 111 percent increase that raised their market share to 11.7 percent, according to Dataforce numbers reported by Automotive News.

BYD led Chinese brands with 26,103 sales, up 131 percent. The Chery Group recorded 24,332 units, a 210 percent improvement covering Chery, Jaecoo, Jetour, Lepas, Omoda, and Ebro. SAIC Motor, parent of MG, posted 21,132 registrations, up 32 percent.

BYD and Chery together accounted for 60 percent of the 51,296-unit rise in Chinese-brand sales. MG had held the top-selling Chinese-brand position in Europe from 2011 until 2026; BYD finished first in May, July, and August.

After eight months, BYD leads year-to-date European sales for Chinese brands with 232,600 units. Across all Chinese brands, year-to-date volume stands at 913,703 vehicles. The Geely Group, which includes Polestar, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, and Lotus, ranked fourth among Chinese automakers in the period.

Leapmotor, a joint venture partner of Stellantis, grew 222 percent to 7,628 units. Leapmotor's first-half growth slowed after Italy's scrappage incentive elapsed.

The BYD Seal U crossover was the top-selling Chinese model in Europe in August, ranking 21st overall with 7,789 units. The MG ZS was 26th with 6,966 registrations and the BYD Atto 2 placed 43rd with 5,603 units.

Both the Seal U and Atto 2 use BYD's DM-i system, in which the electric motor drives the wheels most of the time and the gasoline engine supplies charge in hybrid mode. The Seal U develops nearly 320 mechanical horsepower and the Comfort grade manages 125 kilometers (78 miles) of WLTP electric range. The Atto 2, introduced last year with the DM-i system, offers up to 1,020 kilometers (634 miles) of combined range, according to available figures.

Plug-in hybrids outpaced battery-electric models in August: Chinese plug-in hybrid sales tripled while BEV deliveries doubled. Of the 97,639 Chinese-brand vehicles sold in August, plug-in hybrids represented 34 percent of the volume and battery-electric vehicles 37 percent.

Dataforce also reports Chinese brands accounted for one in four hybrid sales in Europe in August, or one in three if counting only plug-in hybrids.

Chinese-built BEVs and EREVs currently face specific duties of up to 35.3 percent on top of the standard 10 percent import duty; plug-in hybrids are excluded from those era duties for now.

European lawmakers are discussing whether to change the treatment of PHEVs. Brussels reportedly asked China to voluntarily limit hybrid exports to about 15 percent of the EU market compared with more than a third at present, a request that would apparently violate World Trade Organization rules.

Dataforce provided the figures reported by Automotive News on 23 September 2026.