Chinese automakers are conquering Europe — already ahead of Ford, almost caught up with Mercedes

There is a decline in new car registrations in Europe. In June 2025, this figure decreased by 4.4% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the first half of the year, registrations decreased by 0.3%. Against this background, there is a significant increase in registrations of Chinese cars. They are already outpacing the sales of some traditional Western brands and are treading on the heels of the most popular European manufacturers.

In total, Chinese automakers sold 347,100 cars in the first half of 2025, which is 91% more than last year. At the same time, they have already captured 5.1% of the European market. This is only 0.1 percentage points less than Mercedes (5.2%), but significantly more than Ford (3.8%).

The leader among Chinese brands was BYD. This company increased its electric car sales by 133% in June and by 143% in the first 6 months. The company sold 41300 electric cars and became the 12th largest electric car brand in terms of registrations. For comparison: Cupra sold 37400 electric vehicles, and Ford — 35200.

However, the breakthrough of Chinese companies was not only due to electric vehicles. The following cars also proved to be popular plugin hybrids — especially models from BYD, Jaecoo, and Omoda. For example, the BYD Seal U tied for first place among PHEVs with the Volkswagen Tiguan in June, becoming the most popular plug-in hybrid in Europe.

Not all European players managed to maintain their positions. Although the VW Group (+3%), Renault (+6%), BMW (+4%), and even Ford (+6%) showed growth, Tesla has lost 33% of sales, and Stellantis — 9%. The most striking drop was in the Tesla Model Y, which was recently the best-selling electric car in Europe. In the first half of the year, its sales dropped by 33% to 68800 cars, and it didn’t even make it into the top ten.

The Dacia Sandero remains the most popular car in Europe, although its sales fell by 11% — to 128800. The Renault Clio follows with a 7% increase — 122500 registrations. The Peugeot 2008 took third place, followed by the VW T-Roc, Golf and Tiguan.

At the same time, the electric vehicle market grew by 25% overall and exceeded 1 million registrations in six months for the first time in history — 1.2 million cars from January to June. This is a landmark moment for the industry.

Source: carscoops