7:15 am, January 7, 2026
Chinese car brands really made their mark on the UK automotive scene in 2025, securing nearly a tenth of the market.
Latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that 9.7% of new cars last year were from Chinese carmakers, almost 200,000 cars, while Chinese brands took 12.7% of all UK electric vehicle sales.
When looking at the largest increases in year-to-date registrations, BYD came out on top by registering 42,634 more cars than it managed in 2024. It was followed by Omoda and Jaecoo.
Despite the impressive gains, the old order of Volkswagen, BMW and Ford dominated market share, with only Chinese-owned MG breaking into the top 10 best-selling brands.
Here, using SMMT data, we look at each Chinese car brand and how it performed in 2025.
BYD emerged as the strongest Chinese performer by volume. The brand recorded an increase of 42,634 registrations year-on-year, making it the largest overall gainer in pure-number terms among Chinese manufacturers, and it was one of the fastest-growing brands overall. On a percentage year-on-year basis, BYD jumped by 485%.
The most dramatic expansion, however, came from newer arrivals. Jaecoo delivered one of the largest percentage increases in the market, adding 28,023 registrations year-on-year, representing a 13,408% increase on 2024’s sales figures. Sister brand Omoda was close behind, growing volumes by 16,226 units, up 447%. Both brands expanded their dealer networks in 2025, and expect more partners to join them over the next 12 months.
Parent company Chery also arrived in the UK in 2025, a few months after its Omoda and Jaecoo brands. While Chery’s own volumes remain comparatively small to Omoda’s and Jaecoo’s, it still managed to shift over 5,500 cars during the year – more than Alfa Romeo (3,000), Subaru (2,144), Genesis (1,225), and DS Automobiles (1,015).
Other Chinese brands delivered mixed results.
GWM recorded a year-on-year decline; it was down by over 53% and was only beaten by Fiat (-38.5%) and Seat (-37.4%). Despite launching the hybrid Haval Jolion Pro SUV and Poer 300 pick-up during the year, GWM has so far failed to expand its Ora EV brand beyond the 03 hatchback.
While on paper Skywell had an impressive year in recording a 417% year-to-date increase, total sales of 31 cars during the year makes it one of the lowest performing brands in UK. It’s a similar story with SAIC-owned Maxus – it recorded a 51.6% increase in sales, but in total it shifted just 47 vehicles in 2025.
Last year also saw the arrival of new Stellantis-backed Leapmotor, Geely, Xpeng and Changhan.
Leapmotor, aided by its sharing of dealership space with other Stellantis brands such as Vauxhall, sold 4,273 cars during the year. A strong figure as it fought for most of the year with just two models, the T03 and C10. But, with it enjoying around a six-month advantage on Chery and still registering fewer cars, expectations will be high for improvement in 2026.
Volvo-owner Geely arrived in the UK at the back-end of 2025 and registered an impressive 478 cars, while Changhan seemingly appeared out of the blue in late summer and secured 357 registrations.
IM Group, which also handles GWM in the UK, will likely be pleased with XPeng as it finished the year with 900 registrations.
And then there’s MG. The Chinese-owned British brand continued to strengthen its position in the UK market, with a string of new model launches.
Registrations rose by 3,619 units, up 4.4%. This performance allowed it to break into the tenth place in the top 10 brands year-on-year; its plus-percentage was in sharp contrast to most other European brands placed higher in the table, who mostly recorded percentage decreases.
Overall, it’s clear that some of the Chinese car brands are moving from novel status to potentially becoming notable players. All eyes will be on 2026’s figures released in 12 months’ time.
