Sales by Chinese manufacturers in Europe are expected to exceed one million units for the first time, and well before the end of the year. However, there are two European markets where they have still not achieved the level of penetration they would like.
Starting from the opposite end, the most profitable European market for Chinese manufacturers is, somewhat predictably, Great Britain. As a country outside the EU, it benefits from a more favorable tariff policy. It is also Europe’s second-largest car market after Germany, and so far in 2026, Chinese manufacturers have reached a 15% market share there.
Spain follows, where Chinese manufacturers’ market share stands at 12%, while Italy is also at 12%. It is worth noting that the British market alone accounts for 30% of all Chinese-made car sales in Europe.
At the other end of the spectrum are Germany and France, where Chinese manufacturers’ market share stands at 4% and 3%, respectively.
“Germany, as Europe’s largest market, is also the most competitive and the one where the most money is spent,” said Alexander Lutz, an executive at Ayvens.
A telling example is BYD, the second-best-selling Chinese brand in Europe after SAIC. In an effort to gain its desired share of the German market, the company introduced price cuts of up to 11,500 euros, hoping to attract both private buyers and corporate users, including fleet managers.
More precisely, two thirds of car sales in Germany come from corporate users of various kinds. This means that “if someone wants to succeed in this particular market, they need to have a clear strategy for that specific factor,” Lutz noted.
One factor that has helped Chinese brands penetrate the European market is the willingness of local dealers to add Chinese automakers to their portfolios.
“Large dealer groups, unlike three or four years ago, are now competing to secure the ability to sell Chinese cars, which gives the Chinese an advantage,” said Steve Young, an analyst specializing in automotive retail.
As the head of an Omoda and Jaecoo dealership in west London, Young also noted that acceptance of Chinese models has brought the business much closer, much earlier, to targets that had originally been expected to take three years to achieve, even though operations began only 14 months ago.
Another factor behind the success of Chinese manufacturers in Europe, apart from the competitive and high-tech specifications of their vehicles, is their ability to adapt to changing conditions.
A telling example is that since 2024, when European tariffs on Chinese-made electric models came into force, sales of those vehicles fell from 65% of Chinese exports in 2023 to 34% in April 2026.
Very quickly after 2024, Chinese manufacturers shifted their focus toward plug-in hybrid and hybrid models, as well as vehicles with internal combustion engines. In doing so, they continued to increase their market shares while implementing the necessary changes at a pace analysts describe as “impressive.”
