BYD leads Chinese automakers' Europe sales surge

Chinese automakers nearly doubled Europe sales in March to 140,094 vehicles, taking 9.4% share of the market.

The growth was driven by demand for lower-priced plug-in hybrids, led by BYD, according to Germany-based researcher Dataforce.

Sales of Chinese plug-in hybrids rose more than fourfold from a year earlier to almost 30% of that segment despite EU tariffs, while Chinese battery EV and hybrid registrations also hit records, Dataforce said.

BYD’s Seal U and Atto 2 drove the increase, Chery’s Jaecoo and Omoda also rose, and the Jaecoo 7 became the UK’s top-selling model in March, said Dataforce analyst Julian Litzinger.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Why EU tariffs aren’t stopping Chinese automakers

Sales are rising in part because the EU’s anti-subsidy tariffs apply only to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) 1.
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are outside those duties, which helps explain the fourfold jump in sales 1.
PHEVs will be BYD’s main European offering in the short term, with several new models on the way, BYD executives said 2.
That approach helps Chinese brands win share before BYD’s new factories in Hungary and Turkey start local output. Production in Europe is expected to cut BYD’s exposure to EU tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, including through shifting some supply to Europe 3.

Chinese automakers are building a parallel industry in Europe

Chinese carmakers are doing more than lifting sales. They are building a fuller auto base inside Europe.
BYD is setting up passenger vehicle plants in Hungary and Turkey. Together, they are expected to reach about 500,000 vehicles a year in capacity, and BYD has said it is talking with local parts makers to build a European supply chain 4, 5.
The effort also includes a research and development (R&D) center in Budapest for intelligent driving technologies and next-generation electric vehicle systems. A senior adviser said a European battery plant would also be needed to support output 6, 4.
This local push puts pressure on European automakers such as Volkswagen and Stellantis in the affordable mass-market segment 3.