Automotive News Europe — 2026-04-22
Automotive Industry
Fueled by strong demand for models from Chery and BYD, Chinese automakers set a monthly record in March, reaching 149,094 sales, an increase of 97 percent from March 2025 in a total market that grew by 11 percent to 1.58 million vehicles.
The previous record of 111,334 vehicles was set in December 2025, the only other month when Chinese sales in Europe exceeded 100,000.
Despite the strong performance in terms of volume, the overall market share for Chinese brand in Europe last month was 9.41 percent, which trailed the 9.48 percent market share the automakers recorded in December 2025, according to figures from market researcher Dataforce covering the EU, U.K. and EFTA markets.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles continued to fuel growth for Chinese brands, which quadrupled PHEV sales to 47,126 vehicles in March.
Sales of battery-electric vehicles from Chinese brands rose by 107 percent to 46,970 in March, accounting for 32 percent of their overall sales, which is the same share the Chinese reached with PHEVs last month.
A year ago, gasoline models held a 31 percent share of Chinese sales in Europe, ahead of BEVs at 30 percent, full hybrids at 21 percent and plug-in hybrids at 15 percent. In March 2026, gasoline models accounted for just 15 percent of sales, while PHEVs jumped to 30 percent. The market share of full hybrids and BEVs remained stable.
In March, Chinese automakers accounted for four of the top 10 best-selling PHEVs, up from just one last year, the BYD Seal U DM-i. Strong U.K. sales propelled the Jaecoo 7 to the top of Europe PHEV sales table in March.
It beat the Seal U DM-I, 10,592 to 9,971 units, according to Dataforce figures. The Seal U DM-I finished 2025 as Europe’s No. 1-selling PHEV.
The BYD Atto 2 was the No. 5-selling PHEV in March with a volume of 5,089 vehicles, while the Seal 06 wagon finished the month at No. 9 with 3,688 sales. Neither model was available in March 2025.
SAIC’s MG remained the best-selling Chinese brand in Europe, but by a narrow margin. MG sales increased 2.6 percent to 39,717 vehicles in March, while No. 2 BYD grew by 152 percent to 37,732 vehicles and No. 3 Chery by 369 percent to 36,551 vehicles.
On a quarterly basis, MG led with 80,391 vehicles (+3 percent), followed by BYD at 73,870 (+156 percent) and Chery at 69,907 (+342 percent).
While the race remains competitive, the distance between first and third place is widening compared with January, when it was 1,431 sales. But a look back to March 2025, shows that MG’s lead over BYD was 23,708 sales and its lead over Chery was 30,901.
Leapmotor continued to be the fastest-growing Chinese automaker in Europe, with sales up 759 percent to 11,248 vehicles.
The T03 full-electric minicar — which accounted for more than half the brand’s volume with 6,792 sales — was Europe No. 9-selling EV in March, well ahead of any model from Stellantis.
The Chinese automaker’s cars are sold outside of China through Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis holds a 51 percent stake.