Chinese manufacturers more than doubled their share of the European car market in May 2025, accounting for 5.9% of total new vehicle registrations, up from 2.9% in the same month last year, according to data from JATO Dynamics.
The rapid growth came in spite of the European Union’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
JATO global analyst Felipe Munoz says the performance reflected the strategic push by Chinese brands into alternative powertrains such as plug-in hybrids and full hybrids — offerings that continue to gain ground across the continent.
In total, 65,808 vehicles from Chinese manufacturers were registered in May across 28 European markets, helping to drive a modest 2.5% increase in total monthly new car registrations. Europe recorded 1,107,517 new vehicle registrations for the month, taking the year-to-date total to 5.54 million — a 0.7% increase on the same period in 2024.
MG remained the best-performing Chinese brand, registering 29,400 units in May — a 30% increase year-on-year — and overtaking Fiat in the year-to-date rankings with 133,400 registrations to Fiat’s 125,300. BYD also posted strong results, recording a 397% increase in registrations. While it fell just short of Tesla’s monthly total in May, BYD had outsold the American EV giant in April.
Other Chinese entrants continued to gain ground, with Jaecoo outselling Honda with 7,449 registrations and Omoda surpassing Mitsubishi with 4,213. Leapmotor posted 1,723 units but was outpaced by Stellantis sibling brands, while still managing to outsell Italy’s Lancia, which recorded an 80% decline. Chery-affiliated Spanish brand Ebro also outperformed Lancia.
Outside the Chinese surge, European brands also showed strong results. Volkswagen Group, Renault Group, and BMW Group all posted monthly gains of 3.3%, 4.6%, and 6.3%, respectively. Skoda climbed to second in the brand rankings, and Cupra overtook Seat in the year-to-date standings with a 30% boost in registrations.
In contrast, several performance and premium marques saw steep declines. Maserati registrations dropped 40%, while Lotus and Abarth saw respective decreases of 48% and 78%. INEOS Automotive outsold Jaguar, which managed just 86 registrations.
The Renault Clio led model rankings for the month, registering a 12% increase. Despite a 10% drop, the Dacia Sandero held second place for the month and remains the best-seller so far in 2025. The Volkswagen Tiguan and Dacia Duster also performed well, while the Volkswagen Golf and T-Roc posted double-digit declines.
Among newer models, the Skoda Elroq led the field with 9,200 May registrations and 24,100 year-to-date. It was followed by the Jaecoo 7 (7,449 units), BYD Seal U (7,100), and Renault Symbioz (6,743). The Cupra Terramar (5,445), Audi Q6 (5,007), and Volkswagen Tayron (4,793) also made strong showings.
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