China draws level with Japan on UK market share

A strong push from Chinese brands including BYD and Jaecoo in November gave them a record share of the UK car market, virtually equalling that of Japanese brands.

New launches including the BYD Dolphin Surf and Jaecoo 5 pushed the Chinese share to 11.8%, compared with 12.3% for Japanese brands including Toyota and Nissan, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The figures don't include sales for Volvo or Polestar, which are categorised as European, despite being owned by Chinese company Geely.

Chinese brands would have overtaken Japanese brands for share had it not been for a sluggish month for leading Chinese marque MG. Its sales total dropped 23% year on year, due to a sharp fall in registrations for its best-selling HS. 

The Chinese sold almost 18,000 cars here in November, as buyers continued to be seduced by their value-led range of petrol, hybrid and electric models, taking them past long-established brands.

The figures are wake-up call for the British automotive industry, which has much invested in the success of Nissan and Toyota, which build cars in the UK for the volume sector. All Chinese-brand models are imported from China.

BYD continued to close the gap to MG in 13th place after finishing 15th for the month, moving it ahead of Land Rover, Mini, Cupra and Peugeot. Jaecoo meanwhile moved ahead of Dacia, Citroën and Mazda to finish 21st.

The Jaecoo 7 continued its phenomenal run to become the country’s ninth best-selling car outright for the month, with sales of 2404 and the best-selling Chinese car, overtaking the HS.

The smaller MG ZS was in third, followed by the Dolphin Surf, which become the country’s fifth best-selling electric car.

BYD’s EV strength made it the country’s second best-selling electric brand for the month, ahead of Ford and closing the gap to leader Tesla, which had another poor month, with sales down 17%.

The Chinese have dominated the PHEV charts this year, and in November the 7 leapfrogged the BYD Seal U to take the top spot, while the HS was in fourth.

Jaecoo was the third-largest PHEV brand in November, after Volkswagen and BMW, while BYD was in fifth.

Meanwhile in 'self-charging' hybrids, MG was the second best-selling brand in November, behind Toyota, as it continued to do well with the ZS and 3 hybrids.