Chinese carmakers outsell Japan in Europe for first time

For the first time over a full quarter, Chinese automakers sold more cars in Europe than their Japanese rivals, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Brands such as BYD and Chery Automobile are gaining ground quickly. Market researcher Dataforce found that registrations of Chinese-branded cars roughly doubled from a year earlier in September, reaching 12.7% of total sales across the region. Hybrids led the growth, and the result put Chinese brands ahead of Japanese makers such as Toyota, which held 11.9%.straitstimes.com

The change happened fast. Five years ago, Chinese brands made up barely 1% of European sales. Toyota, by contrast, has sold cars in Europe since 1963, and Nissan has built vehicles at its Sunderland plant in the UK since 1986, The Straits Times noted in its republication of the Bloomberg report. European groups such as Volkswagen and Renault still dominate the market.koreaherald.com

Britain and hybrids drive gains

Chinese brands are doing especially well in Britain. Chery's Jaecoo 7 SUV was the UK's best-selling model in both March and September, according to The Straits Times. In the first half of 2026, Chinese brands' European sales jumped 90.6% to 531,862 vehicles, according to MarkLines data cited by The Korea Herald. BYD alone sold 169,361 vehicles in that period, up 138%.koreaherald.com+1

Hybrids have been a weak point in the EU's defenses because they escaped the bloc's tariffs on Chinese electric cars. China and the EU reached a deal on October 9 that could cut Chinese hybrid exports to the bloc by more than half, Reuters reported. An EU official later said imports would be capped at 350,000 units a year, and that the safeguard could take effect in early December, according to The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 1.37%. Brussels is also weighing "Made in Europe" rules that would tie some incentives to local production.reuters.com+1

Building factories in Europe

Chinese manufacturers are already moving production into Europe. BYD's plant in Szeged, Hungary, is designed to eventually build 300,000 vehicles a year and will be the company's first European passenger-car factory, The Korea Herald reported. BYD executive Stella Li said at the Paris Motor Show this month that mass production there was set to begin in the fourth quarter, about a year behind the original schedule, according to one EV outlet.eletric-vehicles.com+1

Chery and its Spanish partner Ebro are reviving Nissan's former Barcelona factory, and the two have invested more than 150 million euros in it. Geely plans to start joint production with Ford ↘ 0.89% in Valencia in 2028, The Korea Herald reported. Leapmotor Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., Ltd. has started building its B10 SUV at a Stellantis ↘ 1.28% plant in Zaragoza, The Straits Times reported.koreaherald.com+1

Analysts are split on whether the cost advantage will hold up once production moves to Europe. "Replicating China's hyperefficient, vertically integrated domestic production system will be difficult in Europe," Kim Pil-su, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University, told The Korea Herald.koreaherald.com