Automotive News Europe — 2026-03-18
Automotive Industry
China’s automakers in February nearly doubled their vehicle their European sales, which surged 94 percent to 78,962 and captured an 8 percent market share — led by demand for plug-in hybrids from BYD and Chery, as well as battery-electric cars from Leapmotor.
Chinese brands’ February’s market share was nearly double that of the 4.2 percent they held in February 2025, although it trails the record 9.5 percent share in December 2025, according to data from market researcher Dataforce, which covers the EU, U.K. and EFTA markets.
After a modest 3.8 percent decline in January, SAIC’s MG increased sales by 11 percent in February, remaining the bestselling Chinese brand in Europe, but its closest competitors are quickly narrowing the gap.
MG led with 21,827 sales, ahead of BYD’s 18,059 sales (up 164 percent) and Chery’s 16,166 (up 282 percent).
In February 2025, MG was more than 13,000 sales ahead of BYD for the month, and more than 15,000 ahead of Chery, while this year just 5,661 sales separate first place from third.
Plug-in hybrids drive Chinese surge
The biggest driver of Chinese growth in February was plug-in hybrids, up 313 percent to 20,227 sales. PHEVs covered a quarter of Chinese sales in Europe last month, compared with 12 percent in February 2025.
Plug-in hybrids are not subject to European Union tariffs on China-built full-electric cars, and Chinese brands quickly pivoted to selling them after the levies were imposed in 2024. The tariffs added up to 35 percent to the EU’s standard 10 percent import duty.
Overall, sales of mass-market PHEVs increased 46 percent in February to 56,172, with the Chinese share at 36 percent of this figure. Five of the top 10 volume PHEVs in February came from China.
The BYD Seal U ranked first with 5,506 sales, an increase of 132 percent year-on-year. The Jaecoo 7 from Chery ranked third with 2,971, the BYD Atto 2 was sixth with 2,197, the BYD Seal 06 was ninth with 1,883, and the Omoda 9 from Chery was 10th with a volume of 1,803.
The BYD Seal U was the bestselling PHEV overall, including premium models, ahead of the Volkswagen Tiguan, and the Jaecoo 7 was fifth.
Battery-electric growth defies tariffs
Chinese battery-electric vehicles had a strong February, with sales up 116 percent to 26,986. The overall EV market was up 16 percent for the month.
BEVs made up 34 percent of Chinese sales in Europe in February compared with 31 percent a year ago.
The Leapmotor T03 was the top-selling Chinese BEV in Europe with 6,119 sales, ranking fourth overall behind the Tesla Model Y, Skoda Elroq and Tesla Model 3, and ahead of the Skoda Enyaq and the Renault 5.
Leapmotor, a Stellantis subsidiary, was also the fastest-growing Chinese brand in Europe, up 849 percent to 8,511 sales.
In terms of other powertrains, the share of full hybrids among Chinese sales in Europe in February was stable at 23 percent, while the share of gasoline models halved to 15 percent from 30 percent a year ago.
MG had two of the three Chinese bestselling models in February. The MG ZS small SUV led with 9,038 sales, ahead of the BYD Seal U midsize SUV with 5,824 and the MG 3 small car at 5,580.