Brits now buy more BYDs than Land Rovers, according to the latest DVLA car registration data for the fourth quarter of 2025. The data reveals a dramatic shift in the UK automotive market, with Chinese-made vehicles gaining significant ground on traditional European brands.
Surge in Chinese Car Sales
For the second consecutive quarter, BYD sales outpaced those of Land Rover's Range Rover. Additionally, for the first time, more Chinese-made MGs were sold than Mercedes. The scale of this transformation is hard to overstate. In the last quarter of 2023, Brits bought around 20,000 Chinese cars. By the last quarter of 2025, that figure had roughly tripled. Meanwhile, European incumbents, including century-old firms, have gradually seen their market shares decline.
Why the UK is Different
This trend is particularly pronounced in the UK compared to mainland Europe and North America, which have imposed high tariffs on Chinese car imports. The UK has not followed suit, allowing Chinese brands to flourish. On current trends, the UK is likely to buy more than a quarter of a million Chinese cars this year.
Premium Market Growth
The lower price point of Chinese-made cars is a key factor, but there are clear signs of these trends shifting up to the premium end of the market. For example, around 400 Xpeng luxury EVs, starting at around £50,000, were sold in the last quarter of 2025—a ten-fold increase compared to the first quarter of the same year.
Impact on UK Manufacturing
Cars remain one of the few areas where Britain still has a decent-sized manufacturing industry—the sixth largest in Europe by number of cars delivered. However, UK car production has dropped sharply from around one million vehicles in 2023 to only three-quarters of that in 2025. If the trend continues, the UK may lose another industry.
