Korean Media: Sales First Turnaround, Chinese Cars Outperform Mercedes in Europe!

On September 1, the Korean media outlet "Herald Economy" published an article stating that Chinese car brands are showing rapid growth in the European market and have begun to surpass some traditional brands. In the first half of this year, the share of Chinese cars in the European market approached that of Mercedes-Benz, marking a comprehensive expansion of their influence.

According to market research company JATO, in the first half of 2025, the number of new registrations of passenger cars from Chinese brands in Europe reached 347,100, an increase of 91% compared to the previous year. The market share of Chinese passenger cars was 5.1%, following closely behind Mercedes (5.2%) and surpassing Mercedes for the first time in June. Ford's market share, at 3.8%, lagged far behind.

Among them, BYD recorded the highest growth, with electric vehicle sales reaching 41,300 units in the first half of the year, an increase of 143% compared to the previous year. Sales increased by 133% in June alone, ranking 12th among European electric vehicle brands, easily surpassing Cupra with 37,400 units and Ford with 35,200 units.

The expansion of plug-in hybrid car sales has also driven the growth of Chinese brands. Brands such as BYD, JAECOO, and Ommada are widely popular. The BYD Seagull U and Volkswagen Tiguan were tied as the best-selling plug-in hybrid models in Europe in June.

During the same period, Volkswagen Group grew by 3%, while Renault, BMW, and Ford achieved modest growth of 6%, 4%, and 6%, respectively. In contrast, Tesla's sales in Europe fell by 33% in the first half of the year, and Stellantis' sales fell by 9%.

The once top-selling model in Europe, the Tesla Model Y, fell out of the top ten, with sales of only 68,800 units, a decrease of 33% compared to the previous year. However, due to the launch of some redesigned models at the beginning of this year, the decline in the second quarter narrowed to 13%.

At the same time, the number of electric vehicle registrations across Europe in the first half of the year reached 1.2 million, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year. This is the first time that the number of electric vehicle registrations in Europe has exceeded 1 million within six months.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842063725501443/

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