Sales of electric cars of Chinese brands in Europe reached a record level. In the first five months of 2026, they accounted for 14.2% of new electric car sales in Western European countries, or about one in seven electric cars, The Guardian reports, citing data from Schmidt Automotive Research.
In January-May, Chinese manufacturers sold about 171,800 electric cars in the 18 largest markets of Western Europe, increasing their share by almost five percentage points compared to the same period last year.
BYD, Chery, SAIC and Xpeng are actively expanding their presence in the European market. The increase in sales comes despite additional tariffs imposed by the European Union on electric cars from several Chinese manufacturers of up to 35.3% on top of the standard 10% import duty.
Great Britain has become the largest European market for Chinese electric cars, which did not follow the EU and did not impose additional charges. It accounted for about a quarter of Chinese electric vehicle sales in 18 major Western European markets.
Italy accounted for about a fifth of sales. However, analysts consider such a result to be an exception. the Chinese company Leapmotor supplied the country with thousands of cheap T03 electric cars, which, thanks to state subsidies, could be purchased for about 5 thousand euros in a certain period of time.
Chinese car manufacturers have also significantly expanded the range. this year, more than 120 of their models were presented on the European market, compared to about 100 models of European brands.
At the same time, Matthias Schmidt, the founder of Schmidt Automotive Research, believes that the share of Chinese manufacturers in the fully electric car market could have reached its peak. In his assessment, companies will more actively promote rechargeable hybrids, because they are not subject to additional EU customs duties for now.
Meanwhile, in Europe, they are discussing the possible expansion of tariff measures for hybrid cars. The head of Volkswagen, Oliver Blume, stated earlier that European manufacturers cannot compete with Chinese companies in this segment.
Tesla sales have also recovered in the European market. they increased by 60% in annual terms. This was helped by the increase in demand for the more affordable versions of the Model 3 and Model Y. At the same time, Model Y became the best-selling car model in Europe in the first five months of the year.
