Register for free to receive latest news stories direct to your inbox
Register
The relentless march of Chinese electric vehicle brands on the UK market is illustrated in the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
While it shows the UK new car market grew by 6.6% in March, typically the busiest month of the year, with 380,627 new vehicles registered, it also revealed that the top selling brand in March was the Jaecoo 7, with 10,064 units driving off garage forecourts.
The Ford Puma (9,193), Nissan Qashqai (8,718), Kia Sportage (7,310) and Vauxhall Corsa (6,315) made up the rest of the top five selling brands.
But the cheaper Chinese alternatives are gradually establishing a strong foundation in the UK new EV market.
Last November car dealership chain Vertu said it had ditched traditional US motor marque Ford for Chinese challenger, BYD, at its Macclesfield site, the fifth in the Vertu portfolio to welcome the BYD brand, and saying the move marked a significant step in its evolving relationship with the Far East automotive brand.
Earlier last year national dealership LSH Auto opened its fifth BYD showroom, this time in Bury, while in November 2024, the Peoples car dealership expanded beyond its 42-year legacy of Ford exclusivity and welcomed Chinese brands BYD and OMODA/JAECOO onto its forecourts.
Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover announced a 50-50 joint venture with Chinese auto manufacturer, Chery, in March 2012, and began production at Changshu in 2014, making JLR models locally for the Chinese market.
Chery Jaguar Land Rover
They expanded the JV in 2024 to embrace electric vehicle manufacture, and in January this year Chery opened its first European HQ, in Liverpool, which gave rise to speculation that it could make its own OMODA-banded models on the JLR production line at nearby Halewood plant.
BYD also revealed today (April 7) that it has built on its overall 2025 sales success by achieving its best ever first quarter sales result in the UK.
It ended the quarter with a total of 21,337 vehicle registrations. Furthermore, demand for the latest 26-plate was strong; sales in March alone totalled 15,162 units – a record for the brand and enough to achieve a market share exceeding 3.98%.
The brand currently trades from 132 UK retail sites, with an aim to have 150 operational by this summer.
BYD UK manager, Bono Ge, said: “Building on the growth which we’ve already had in this country since we arrived three years ago, our cars, with their strong value-for-money and appealing style and technology continue to really strike a chord with both private and fleet buyers up and down the country.”
The SMMT said the March sales performance is the best month overall since 2019, when 458,054 units were sold.
Growth was driven primarily by private demand, with retail registrations rising 10.1% to 162,470 units.
Fleet registrations increased 3.5% to 208,853 units, while the smaller business sector grew 18.8% to 9,304 units.
March was also the best month on record for electrified vehicle volumes, accounting for 196,059 registrations, underlining the impact of manufacturers’ investment in road transport decarbonisation.
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) registrations rose 46.9% to take a 13% market share, while hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) increased 7.3% to take 15.8% of the market.
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) reached a new record, up 24.2%, to 86,120 registrations in the month.
However, with a market share of only 22.6% for the month, and 22.4% year to date, uptake is now even further adrift of the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate target, which demands 33% for 2026.
Despite rising EV volumes, conditions have diverged sharply from those assumed when the mandate was set.
At the start of 2026, battery costs were more than 30% higher than expected and industrial energy prices around 80% above 2021 levels, while public charging can cost in excess of 140% more than five years ago.
Future costs and, therefore, demand are even more uncertain given the Iran crisis, which may spark interest in EVs but risks pushing up energy and supply chain costs, increasing the cost of living and undermining consumer confidence.
While the Government has acknowledged these pressures – and sought to support the market, most notably through the introduction of the Electric Car Grant – the SMMT says manufacturers are still forced to shoulder unsustainable costs to comply with the regulation when natural demand lags ambition.
Alongside billions invested in both the technology and product to deliver a choice of more than 160 EV models, manufacturers are relying heavily on discounting to stimulate demand.
Industry’s calls for a rapid review of the transition have been given added urgency by geopolitical events with petrol and diesel prices spiralling at the pumps.
While other major international markets are revising their transition plans to reflect geopolitical and market realities, delays to a review of the UK transition will put the country in an uncompetitive position, undermining consumer choice, investment and, ultimately, the pace of decarbonisation, says the SMMT.
Mike Hawes
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The strongest new car market since 2019, with the highest ever volume of EV registrations, is a boost to the industry and the economy.
“However, the headlines belie the costs incurred and the challenges involved.
“Much of March’s performance will be from orders placed before the start of the Iran conflict which threatens to raise the cost of living, undermining consumer confidence.
“Against this backdrop, and with the EV market falling further away from mandated levels, despite record levels of incentives, an urgent review of the transition is required to secure a sustainable market, economic growth and the UK’s net zero ambitions.”