Chinese Automakers Increase Presence in Europe
Chinese automotive brands continue to grow rapidly in the European market, capturing 6.8% of total sales in October. Leaders of this process are giants such as SAIC and BYD, which have overtaken Tesla.
Sales Dynamics of Chinese Manufacturers
In October, approximately 75,000 cars from Chinese brands were sold in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). SAIC showed particularly high results: sales increased from 17,552 in October of last year to 23,860 in October of this year. For the January-October period, its sales also grew by 26.6% — from 197,686 to 250,250 units.
BYD is also demonstrating rapid demand growth and has almost three times more sales than Tesla. In October, the company sold 17,470 cars in the region, which is 206.8% more than in October of last year when 5,695 units were sold. Since the beginning of the year, BYD’s sales have increased by 285% — from 35,949 to 138,390 cars.
Tesla’s Challenges in the European Market
The situation for Tesla does not look as good. In October, its sales in Europe fell by 48.5% — from 13,519 to just 6,964 units. This means the company ended up even behind Porsche, which, despite a 26% drop in sales, overtook Tesla with 7,653 cars sold. In the first ten months of the year, sales of the American brand in the region fell by 29.6% to 180,688 units.
Among the new cars sold by Chinese brands in the region in October, 36% were electric vehicles. The most popular model among them was the compact BYD Dolphin.
Overall Situation in the European Market
In the European market, new car registrations increased by 1.4%, and the share of electric vehicles is 16.4%. Traditional hybrids remain the most popular type of powertrain, accounting for 34.6% of total sales. Gasoline-powered cars hold 27.4% of the market, diesel — 9.2%, plug-in hybrids — 9.1%, and other options account for only 3.3% of total sales.
This data indicates that the European car market is undergoing significant changes, where Chinese manufacturers are increasingly playing a key role. Their success may be linked to aggressive pricing policies, a wide range of electric vehicles, and growing consumer trust. At the same time, traditional leaders like Tesla are facing increasing competition, which may require them to revise their strategies to maintain their positions.