MG and BYD will remain the best-selling Chinese brands in Europe in 2025
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MG and BYD will remain the best-selling Chinese brands in Europe in 2025
- Chinese brands accounted for 795,000 passenger car sales in Europe (30 countries = EU + UK + Switzerland + Norway) in 2025, excluding Volvo, compared to 417,000 in 2024 (a 90% increase), 368,000 in 2023, 200,000 in 2022, 82,000 in 2021, and 36,000 in 2020. They thus represented 6% of the European passenger car market. Including Volvo, sales reached 1,127,000 units in Europe in 2025, representing 8.2% of the European passenger car market.
- Excluding Volvo, the best-selling Chinese brands in Europe last year were MG (304,000 units; +26% compared to 2024), BYD (184,000 units; +278%), Jaecoo (56,000 units; +2286%), Omoda (52,000 units; +260%), Polestar (48,000 units; +56%), and Leapmotor (34,000 units; +2575%). Including Volvo, this Swedish brand under Chinese control remains the most widely distributed, with 326,000 units sold in Europe by 2025.
- Geely group (owner of Polestar and Lynk&Co ) ranks first if Volvo is included, ahead of SAIC (owner of MG), BYD and Chery (owner of Jaecoo and Omoda ).
- The European countries that bought the most Chinese cars in 2025 (excluding Volvo) were the United Kingdom (213,768 units), Italy (130,606 units), Spain (113,244 units), Germany (68,650 units), France (55,876 units) and Poland (49,005 units).
- Including Volvo, the European countries that bought the most Chinese cars in 2025 were the United Kingdom (282,272 units), Italy (144,635 units), Spain (128,227 units), Germany (128,020 units), France (68,943 units) and Poland (64,715 units).
- The market share of Chinese brands in the European BEV market is 11.5% without Volvo and 15.5% with Volvo.
The Chinese passenger car market grew by 6.4% in 2025
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The Chinese passenger car market grew by 6.4% in 2025
- The Chinese passenger car (PC) market grew by 6.4% in 2025, to 24,065,181 units compared to 22,607,856 units in 2024. In 2025, this market is represented by 70% Chinese brands and 30% foreign brands, compared to 66% and 34% respectively in 2024.
- Exports grew even more strongly (+21.9%) as they amounted to 6,037,959 units (exceeding the 6 million unit mark for the first time) compared to 4,955,134 units in 2024. China is consolidating its lead over other car-producing countries in terms of exports, with its main markets being Europe and Russia.
- As a result, car production increased by 10.2% in China last year, taking into account deliveries to the Chinese market and those made to foreign markets.
- The growth of the Chinese market, Chinese exports, and Chinese production is expected to continue at a healthy pace in 2026 due to the continued expansion of product offerings among Chinese carmakers, particularly in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. BYD's Hungarian plant is expected to begin operations.
- Which carmakers came out on top in 2025 ? BYD delivered 4,545,423 cars in 2025 (+6.9% compared to 2024), ahead of Geely (3,390,481 units; +37.9%) and Chery (2,634,082 units; +6.7%). These three Chinese carmakers outperformed the Volkswagen Group (2,580,865 units; -6.1%) and the GM Group (1,926,279 units; +23.3%) if Baojun and Wuling are included, as GM does.
Renault ceases importing cars from South Korea into Europe
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Renault ceases importing cars from South Korea into Europe
- The Renault Arkana SUV, launched in 2021, was based on the Renault Captur SUV platform, with its wheelbase extended by 8 cm. Its length, increased to 4.57 m (compared to 4.24 m for the Captur), made it more of a C-segment model than a B-segment one. The Arkana was produced in South Korea by Renault Korea (formerly Renault Samsung) and enjoyed some success in Europe, with sales volumes of 38,000 in 2021, 76,000 in 2022, 69,000 in 2023, 46,000 in 2024, and 20,000 in 2025, for a total of 250,000 units imported from Korea.
- Due to a steady decline sales since 2023, amplified by the 2024 launch of the 4.41m long Renault Symbioz SUV produced in Europe, Renault has decided to stop production of the Arkana in December 2025, which means the end of imports of the Arkana from Korea into Europe.
- Koleos SUV suffered the same fate, after 15 years of importing 150,000 units into Europe from Korea. We can even go back further and recall the Renault Latitude sedan (2010-2015), also imported from Korea, albeit in smaller quantities.
- The end of production of the Renault Arkana therefore marks the end of imports into Europe of Renault cars from Korea and the Busan site is set to become a production site for Renault cars both for the Korean market and for international markets outside European markets.
Geely provides support to Renault for the construction of its international high-end range
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Geely provides support to Renault for the construction of its international high-end range
- Renault has unveiled a new E-segment SUV, the Filante, which was designed and will be produced in South Korea by Renault Korea (Busan) for international markets outside European markets, where the model would compete with the Rafale.
- The Renault Filante is a large SUV, 4.92 meters long (20 cm longer than the Rafale), based on the CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform from the Chinese carmaker Geely, which is already used by the Renault Grand Koleos. The Filante, to be launched in March 2026, will be available only in South Korea, the Middle East, and Latin America.
- Renault has been seeking to make progress in non-European markets for several years, and the results for 2025 are already proving positive, since the carmaker's sales there have increased by 11% compared to 2024.
- The South Korean market is a premium market, with the E segment accounting for 26% of total sales, ahead of the D (25%) and C (22%) segments. Mercedes, BMW, and Tesla, specializing in the high-end market, are the three most imported foreign brands in Korea.
- The Renault Filante SUV will be offered with a single engine option : a 250 hp E-Tech full hybrid. The aim is to align with the progressive electrification strategy of the international market, where, according to the carmaker, hybrids should represent the core of the market in the coming years, ahead of battery electric and internal combustion engines.
- The Renault Grand Koleos has enjoyed a reasonable success in Korea, with 25,000 units sold in 2024 and 50,000 in 2025. The Renault Filante could capitalize on this success and quickly reach 50,000 sales per year.
Summary of the main current premium brands in China: rise of Chinese carmakers
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Summary of the main current premium brands in China: rise of Chinese carmakers
- If we summarise the various analyses on Chinese premium brands that are developing in China for an affluent clientele and are starting to arrive in Europe to compete with Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, we find that these Chinese premium brands represent a production volume of 2.1 million cars in 2025, or 7% of Chinese car production, but are constantly increasing, while non-Chinese premium brands represent 9% of Chinese car production (2.8 million units) and have been constantly declining since 2024.
- Let us summarize here the different Chinese Premium brands in descending order of production in 2025:
• Hongqi (FAW): 450,000 units,
• Xiaomi: 400,000 units,
• Zeekr (Geely): 210,000 units,
• NIO: 165,000 units,
• Voyah (Dongfeng): 150,000 units,
• Denza (BYD): 145,000 units,
• Avatr (Changan): 120,000 units,
• Exeed (Chery): 100,000 units,
• Wey (Great Wall): 100,000 units,
• IM Motors (SAIC): 80,000 units,
• Luxeed (Chery): 40,000 units
• Yang Wang (BYD): 5,000 units.
- Hongqi is therefore the leading Chinese premium brand, benefiting from its status as a traditional automotive supplier to the Chinese government and high-ranking officials. Its product range, however, became more accessible in the 2010s and 2020s, targeting a wide variety of customers, but always affluent ones.
- Xiaomi(second Premium brand) is very recent and has had a spectacular breakthrough in the Chinese market from the start (one of the brand's two models, the Xiaomi SU7, was the 10th best-selling models in China in 2025).
- The other ten or so Chinese premium brands are linked to each of the largest Chinese automotive groups.