Demand for models from Chinese car brands soared across Europe in May, outpacing the modern growth seen across the new car market as a whole.

BYD saw registrations surge by 397% year-on-year

Europe’s new car market recorded a 2.5% year-on-year increase in registrations last month, according to Jato Dynamics’ data for 28 European markets. A total of 1,107,517 new vehicles were registered in May 2025, bringing the year-to-date figure to 5,535,831 units; up 0.7% compared to the same period in 2024.

Volkswagen Group, Renault Group and BMW Group all performed well last month with volume increases of 3.3%, 4.6% and 6.3%, respectively. However, Chinese car brands were the main driver of growth in May.

Some 65,808 units were registered by Chinese automakers last month, accounting for 5.9% of total sales across the region. This means that Chinese car brands more than doubled their market share from the 2.9% recorded in the corresponding month in 2024.

The growth comes despite the EU’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles – and  Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics, said the momentum was partly due to automakers’ decision to push alternative powertrains, such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids, to the region.

MG registered 29,400 vehicles in May – up 30% year-on-year – surpassing Fiat in year-to-date registrations, with 133,400 units compared to Fiat’s 125,300.

And BYD saw registrations surge by 397% year-on-year. Despite this sharp growth, it fell 40 units short of Tesla in May, after having outsold the American brand for the first time in April.

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 such as 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.

Strong performers among European carmakers included 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%.

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 as the brand sells off old stock ahead of its relaunch as an all-electric luxury car manufacturer in 2026.

Model league table led by familiar faces

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, Škoda Kodiaq, Jeep Avenger, MG 3 and Mini Cooper. Among newer market entrants, the Škoda 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.