China draws level with Japan on UK market share

A strong push from Chinese brands including BYD and Jaecoo in November gave them a record share of the UK car market in the month that almost equalled that for Japanese brands. New launches including the BYD Dolphin Surf small EV and the Jaecoo 5 compact SUV pushed Chinese’s share to 11.8%, compared to 12.3% for Japanese brands including Toyota and Nissan, according to figures published by UK automotive representative body the SMMT. The figures do not include sales for Volvo or Polestar, which we categorise as European despite being owned by China’s Geely. China brands would have overtaken the Japanese for share had it not been for a sluggish month for leading Chinese marque MG, owned by SAIC, which saw figures drop 23% thanks to a sharp fall in registrations for its best-selling HS compact SUV. The Chinese sold almost 18,000 cars in the month as buyers continued to be seduced by their value-led range of combustion engine, hybrid and EV models, allowing them leapfrog long established brands. The figures are wake-up call for British automotive, which has much invested in the success of Japanese brands Nissan and Toyota in particular, who build cars in the UK and directly compete against the Chinese in the volume sector. All Chinese brand models are imported from China. BYD continued to close the gap to MG in 13th place after finishing 15th for the month, moving it ahead of Land Rover, Mini, Cupra and Peugeot. Jaecoo meanwhile moved ahead of Dacia, Citroen and Mazda to finish 21st. The Jaecoo 7 continued its phenomenal run to become the country’s ninth best-selling car outright for the month with sales of 2404 and the best-selling Chinese car, overtaking the MG HS. The smaller MG ZS was in third followed by the BYD Dolphin Surf, which become the country’s fifth best-selling electric car. BYD’s EV strength saw it become the country’s second best-selling electric brand for the month, ahead of Ford and closing the gap with leader Tesla, which had another poor month with sales down 17 percent. The Chinese strength in plug-in hybrids has seen them dominate the charts for the drivetrain so far this year, and in November the Jaecoo 7 leapfrogged the BYD Seal U – both SUVs – to take the top spot. MG HS was in fourth. Jaecoo was the third largest plug-in hybrid brand in November after Volkswagen and BMW, with BYD in fifth. Meanwhile in hybrids, MG was the second best-selling brand behind Toyota for the month as it continued to do well with the ZS and MG3 hybrid models. The ZS was the no2 best-selling hybrid after the Toyota Yaris and ahead of the Yaris Cross. Other brands meanwhile are looking to grow in a market that has proved the most open to the Chinese across Europe. Chery’s newly launched self-named brand expands the company’s reach beyond its Jaecoo and Omoda nameplates and has so far proved a hit with its two-model SUV range to record 1367 sales for the month, jumping it over Polestar, Lexus and Honda in just its third month of UK operations. The Chery Tiggo 8 midsize SUV became the UK’s ninth best-selling PHEV in November and Chery itself the 10th biggest plug-in hybrid brand, just behind Mercedes-Benz. Chery said it will launch new models including the larger Tiggo 9 SUV arriving in January and the smaller Tiggo 4 joining later in the year. Stellantis backed Leapmotor meanwhile sold 593 cars in November, led by the by electric C10 midsize SUV. The brand just started sales of the B10 compact SUV and unveiled the B03X small electric SUV at the Guangzhou auto show in November. Also opening its account in the UK was Geely’s self-titled value-angled brand, registering 353 of the electric EX5 SUV, putting it ahead of Jeep and Fiat for the month. Other Chinese brands looking to grow in the UK include Xpeng, Changan and GWM. The UK doesn’t currently impose additional tariffs on electric SUVs from China, unlike the European Union, and so far voices to limit sales in the country have been few. One of those was outgoing Vauxhall managing director Steve Catlin, who told Autocar in October that the UK government should investigate whether the “extraordinary” value of Chinese cars was being achieved in a fair way. “Our request would be that if are inequities, ie if they're able to get that amazing value through means that are not fair, then the government takes the opportunity to look them up and address it,” Catlin said. “We want to see a fair playing field in the UK market.”