Chinese car brands drive growth across European market in May

Chinese car manufacturers continued their rapid expansion in Europe last month, more than doubling their market share year-on-year.

According to JATO Dynamics, Chinese brands registered 65,808 new vehicles across 28 European markets in May, up 111% compared to the same month in 2024.

This gave them a 5.9% market share, up from 2.9% last year.

The growth came as the wider European market recorded a modest 2.5% increase in registrations, totalling 1.1 million units. Year-to-date volumes now stand at 5.54 million, up 0.7% on 2024.

MG led the Chinese charge with 29,400 registrations, up 30% year-on-year, pushing it ahead of Fiat in cumulative sales for 2025.

BYD surged 397% and came within 40 units of matching Tesla in May, having outsold the US brand in April.

Other emerging Chinese players also made their presence felt, with Jaecoo outselling Honda and Omoda overtaking Mitsubishi.

Pivot to hybrid is reaping benefits

JATO global analyst Felipe Munoz said: "Despite the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, its car brands continue to post strong growth across Europe.

"Their momentum is partly due to their decision to push alternative powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids, to the region."

MG registered 29,400 vehicles in May — a 30% increase year-on-year — surpassing Fiat in year-to-date registrations with  133,400 units compared to Fiat’s 125,300. Meanwhile, BYD saw registrations surge by 397% year-on-year. Despite this sharp  growth, it fell just 40 units short of Tesla in May, after having outsold the American brand for the first time in April. 

Tesla itself saw a 29% drop in volumes in May, down to 13,600 units.

Jaecoo outsells Honda; Omoda outsells Mitsubishi

Other strong performers in May include Skoda, which occupied second place in the brand rankings, while Dacia saw a  significant rise in volumes. Cupra overtook Seat in the year-to-date brand rankings, recording an uplift in registrations of  30%. 

Elsewhere, Jaecoo outsold Honda with 7,449 registrations while Omoda recorded 4,213 units, outselling Mitsubishi. 

Leapmotor registered 1,723 units but was unable to outperform its sister brands from Stellantis like DS.

The Chinese  carmaker outsold Lancia which posted a year-on-year decrease of 80%. The latter was also outperformed by Ebro – the  revived Spanish brand that produces vehicles in partnership with China’s Chery.  

Maserati recorded a decline of 40%, while registrations by Lotus and Abarth dipped by 48% and 78%, respectively. INEOS outsold Jaguar, which registered just 86 units. 

Renault Clio leads again 

The Renault Clio led the model rankings in May with a volume increase of nearly 12%. Despite a 10% decline in sales, the  Dacia secured second place in the ranking by model and continues to lead the year-to-date rankings. The Volkswagen  Tiguan and Dacia Duster also performed well in May, while the Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen T-Roc posted decreases  of 18% and 10%, respectively.

Other strong performers in May included the MG ZS — the 15th most-registered vehicle — along with the BMW X1,  Seat/Cupra Leon, Peugeot 3008, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Avenger, MG 3, and Mini Cooper. Among newer market entrants, the  Skoda Elroq led the way with 9,200 units registered in May and 24,100 year-to-date. It was followed by the Jaecoo 7 with  7,449 units, the BYD Seal U with 7,100, and the Renault Symbioz with 6,743. The Cupra Terramar recorded 5,445 units, the  Audi Q6 registered 5,007, and the Volkswagen Tayron posted 4,793.