- BYD sold 70,500 units total in the first half of 2025. This is already ahead of its roughly 57,000 European total for all of 2024.
- Similarly, Xpeng has already sold 8,400 units in Europe, surpassing its 8,100 sales total in all of 2024.
- About 5,500 of Xpeng's sales come from the Tesla Model Y-sized Xpeng G6.
While the electric-vehicle market in America is in complete turmoil (and honestly, the whole industry is too), it can be frustrating that global markets enjoy a growingly robust selection of reasonably priced and sized EVs.
Case in point: in Europe, it seems like things have come a long way. European manufacturers are starting to figure out how to make a desirable EV, and cars like the Renault 4 and 5 are critical darlings. But they also have to be, because Chinese EVs are making deeper and deeper inroads into European markets.
Like, really deep inroads. Today, we were sent some sales numbers from business intelligence firm JATO Dynamics. And they show that Chinese brands are growing a lot in Europe. Some brands are seeing a literal 100% jump in sales from 2024.
In the first half of the year, MG led the pack with about 151,600 units sold; it’s the sales leader in all of China’s car brands in Europe. However, remember that MG also sells EVs, PHEVs, and full ICE cars—the MG 3 subcompact hatchback is available in both hybrid and full ICE.
But Chinese juggernaut BYD is also a standout, too. The brand moved about 70,500 units in the first half alone, already surpassing its 2024 EU export total sales of around 57,000. Same with Xpeng, although it only sold about 8,400 units in Europe for H1, this is already past the 8,100 units it sold in all of Europe in 2024. These numbers are a literal 200% increase compared to last year, and they’re expected to only grow.
Both Xpeng and BYD’s success is likely driven by aggressive launches of new products. Since last year, BYD has introduced at least three new models, two of them (Dolphin Surf, Atto 2) compete in the budget part of the segment.
The BYD Seal U PHEV crossover tied with the Volkswagen Tiguan as Europe’s best-selling PHEV crossover. That’s a pretty big deal.
Similarly, Xpeng went from offering its P7 sedan in just a handful of European countries to adding its G9 large SUV and G6 Model Y-sized crossover in late 2024. Most of the sales numbers for Xpeng’s growth come from demand for the Xpeng G6.
Unfortunately, Nio is at the bottom of the sales charts, with a mere 370 units sold on the entire European continent. That’s bad, but I suspect the large size and high prices of Nio’s aspirationally luxury model lineup aren’t resonating with European customers who would rather choose a BMW, Audi or Mercedes that they already know. Perhaps things will get better for the brand when Firefly launches later this year.
As these Chinese brands grow, established European manufacturers have only started to lose market share. Stellantis went from 16.7% of the European market to 15.3% in a year. All of the Chinese brands combined occupy nearly as much market share as all of Mercedes-Benz.
I can understand how these numbers are a huge existential crisis for car brands from China. These sales numbers prove that Chinese cars indeed have appeal outside of China. Also, these brands don’t plan on stopping their conquest of global markets, as most have plans to introduce new models that are cheaper and well-suited to lower price points. And they’ve proven themselves to be a lot quicker at introducing new models.
Legacy had automakers better watch their back, because customers are indeed buying Chinese cars.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
