Chinese car brands continued their ascent in August, taking a record share of the European new car market.

BYD registered more cars than Suzuki and Jeep

More than 43,500 units were registered by Chinese car brands in August – a 121% year-on-year increase and exceeding the individual volumes recorded by several major European brands, latest figures from Jato Dynamics show.

Across the Europe-28, which includes the UK, combined registrations of Chinese car brands last month were higher than those of Audi (41,300 units) and Renault (37,800 units).

Although registrations by Chinese car brands comprise 40 different brands, the top five players – MG, BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda and Leapmotor – account for 84% of the total.

By brand, MG registered more new cars than both Tesla and Fiat last month, while BYD was ahead of Suzuki and Jeep, and Jaecoo and Omoda outsold brands including Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi.

“European consumers are responding positively to the growing, competitive line-up from China’s car brands,” said Felipe Munoz, global analyst at Jato Dynamics. “It appears that these brands have successfully tackled the perception and awareness issues they have experienced.”

Across all brands, registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were up 27% compared to August 2024. This resulted in a new record market share for the segment of 20.2%, up by 3.6 percentage points. So far in 2025, 1.54 million BEVs have been registered in Europe.

But Jato also stressed that the new record market share for BEVs hit last month has been partly distorted by the fact that Italy – typically “a less enthusiastic adopter of BEVs” – is usually quiet during August.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) had an even more impressive month. Across August, 83,900 units were registered, with volumes increasing by 59% year on year and the powertrain’s market share rising to 10.6%.

Chinese car brands are particularly boosting their presence here, faced by higher tariffs on BEV imports to Europe. Registrations increased from just 779 units in August 2024 to 11,064 units last month, with BYD now the eighth best-selling brand for PHEVs. The top 10 PHEV ranking included three Chinese models: the BYD Seal U, the Jaecoo J7 and the MG HS.

Other highlights of Jato’s August data include a 5.0% rise in August registrations in Europe-28, reaching a total of 790,177 units. Last month’s growth was mostly driven by Germany (+5.0%), Poland (+15%), Spain (+18%) and Austria (+25%).

The Volkswagen T-Roc led the way as Europe’s most registered SUV between January and August, and topped the model ranking for August with almost 14,700 units, up by 14%. That’s despite the fact that this model has been on the market for eight years and the second generation has just been revealed.

Its larger brother, the Volkswagen Tiguan, also recorded solid results, coming in at fourth place with volumes up by 23%.

Meanwhile, its direct rival, the Hyundai Tuscon, secured sixth place in the ranking, with registrations up by 28% year on year.

Despite year-on-year registrations of the Tesla Model Y dropping by 38%, it confirmed its position as Europe’s preferred electric vehicle between January and August this year.

Europe-28 includes Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, UK.