【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

"In the UK, Chinese cars are speeding on the roads." On December 17, the U.S. "New York Times" published an article with this title, stating that in recent years, BYD, Chery and other Chinese automakers are winning the support of British car buyers. There, import tariffs are low, and buyers are open to new brands.

The article takes Doug Keith's car dealership in Leeds, UK as an example, illustrating the trend of Chinese cars' popularity in the UK.

Keith has been in the car sales business for over forty years. He said that when he opened a showroom for BYD in 2023, customers were skeptical about buying cars made in China. Now, he already has six exclusive BYD dealerships.

"Some people think that Chinese-made products are cheap," he said. He would ask customers, "Do you think your iPhone is assembled where?"

When Keith was interviewed, he had just test-driven the BYD Seal Plus. The main selling points of this model are speed and price: it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, and its price is 20% cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, costing about £48,000 (approximately RMB 452,000).

The article analyzed that Chinese car brands can quickly capture the UK market due to multiple factors. First, the UK's car import tariff is much lower than that of the EU and the US, currently at 10%. Due to the lack of local brands, British car buyers are open to new brands.

Video screenshot of Keith test-driving the BYD Seal Plus

According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, last month, around a dozen Chinese automakers, such as BYD, Chery, and Geely, accounted for 13% of new car registrations in the UK, approximately twice the market share of last year.

"This growth rate is unprecedented in the market," said Ian Plummer, Chief Commercial Officer of the UK's largest online car trading platform Autotrader. Compared to the entry of Tesla ten years ago or the Korean KIA brand in the 1990s, the growth rate of market share for BYD and Chery in the UK is five to six times faster than that of previous ones.

For many years, the UK's domestic automotive manufacturing industry has been in decline, producing about 600,000 cars so far this year, about half the production speed at the end of the previous decade. In the UK, the largest car manufacturers include Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, and BMW.

At the same time, China has risen to become the world's largest auto exporter, with its reach extending to countries like Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, and South Africa. China's electric vehicle production far exceeds that of any other country, and Chinese automakers have proven themselves adept at adapting to changing regulations and consumer preferences, continuously expanding their market share with popular hybrid models.

The article states that in the UK, there are numerous car brands, and no single brand has absolute market loyalty or share. Data shows that about 2 million new cars are sold annually in the UK. Since 2019, the number of brands registered for sale in the UK has doubled to more than 70.

In the mid-2000s, SAIC Group acquired the British sports car brand MG, marking the beginning of Chinese cars' development in the UK market.

So far this year, MG cars imported from China account for more than 4% of new car registrations in the UK, making it the brand with the largest market share among Chinese brands; BYD's share is slightly over 2%, comparable to Tesla.

According to the introduction, Keith sold his first car at the age of 16 in 1980, and over the next decade, he gradually took over his father's gas station and car repair shop while starting to sell cars. By the early 2020s, BYD caught Keith's attention. He became one of the first authorized dealers of the BYD brand in the UK two and a half years ago.

"It was very difficult at first," Keith said. When he started, few British car buyers had heard of BYD. However, as BYD introduced more models, especially plug-in hybrid vehicles, sales began to increase. His sales staff emphasized the advantages of these well-equipped vehicles, including rotating touchscreens, wireless phone charging, voice control, and even karaoke functions.

"Customers began to realize that this is not a low-end, cheap brand," said Fozia Siddique, a BYD car salesperson, who recently helped sell a new BYD plug-in hybrid SUV. This car retails for about £33,000 (approximately RMB 310,000), with spacious space and long battery range, which attracted customers.

An English family just bought a BYD plug-in hybrid SUV. The New York Times

In Derbyshire, 60-year-old Roger Lyons recently purchased a BYD Seal Plus after test-driving models from Audi, Hyundai, and Porsche. He said, "The car drives almost as well as a Porsche, and has more features."

The article mentioned that encouraged by the success of BYD stores, Keith opened two more stores this month, selling Changan cars. Currently, Keith operates 28 stores, selling cars from multiple global brands. He expects the company's sales to reach about £500 million next year, growing by more than 50% compared to 2024, mainly driven by the demand for Chinese cars.

In September this year, sales at Keith's BYD store in Leeds exceeded all other stores in the region. He marveled at BYD's success in the UK, saying, "Just two years ago, it was an unknown brand."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7585021958929023522/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.