Imports this year now account for 14% of the market amid claims vehicles are being dumped in the EU and UK
Chinese electric car sales have risen across Europe to a record high driven by strong demand and low tariffs in the UK and a surge in buyers in Italy.
Against a backdrop of claims that Chinese carmakers are dumping state-subsidised vehicles in the EU and UK to gain market share, the figures will give impetus to calls for quotas and higher tariffs to protect European manufacturers.
The share of electric cars sold by Chinese brands rose to 14.2% across western European markets C or one in every seven battery electric vehicles (BEVs) C in the first five months of this year, according to Schmidt Automotive Research. The 171,800 sales represented an increase in market share of nearly five percentage points versus the same period in 2025.
Brands including BYD, Chery, SAIC and Xpeng have targeted Europe for exports, as the Chinese industry seeks to dominate the global electric vehicle market. This has put traditional European manufacturers under intense pressure when tougher emissions rules are forcing them to increase their own BEV sales.
The increase in European sales comes despite EU tariffs of up to 35.3% for electric cars made by some Chinese manufacturers, on top of the standard 10% import duty.
The UK is the largest European market for Chinese cars because the government has declined to follow the EUs lead in imposing extra levies. The UK accounted for a quarter of Chinese BEV sales across the 18 biggest Western European markets.
Although Italy accounted for a fifth of the total, Schmidt said this was an anomaly. One manufacturer, Leapmotor, sent thousands of its cheap T03 electric cars into the country to take advantage of purchase subsidies from the government. The subsidies meant that the T03 was as cheap as 5,000 at one point C far below even the most keenly priced models sold by rivals.
Chinese manufacturers have sold more than 120 different models in Europe this year C compared with about 100 from European brands.
However, Matthias Schmidt, the founder of Schmidt research, said Chinas share of the BEV market may have peaked, in part because they have shifted some of their focus to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. PHEVs, which combine a polluting petrol engine with a smaller battery, are not yet subject to EU tariffs.
I think they are hitting a wall when it comes to pure electric models, said Schmidt. They will prioritise PHEVs over the next 12 months given hybrids are omitted from extra tariffs placed on BEVs only. With that loophole set to close in the next 12 months, they will aim to maximise that gap in the door for as long as possible.
Given shipping capacity remains limited, more PHEVs means fewer BEVs, which have likely peaked for now. BEVs will take priority again once local EU production comes online.
Oliver Blume, the chief executive of Volkswagen, last month called for that to change. Blume said European PHEVs were uncompetitive against Chinese equivalents. The German newspaper Handelsblatt has reported that the EU is considering extending the levies to PHEVs.
The figures also showed a rebound in sales for Tesla across Europe. The US carmaker suffered a steep decline in sales last year amid a backlash against chief executive Elon Musks alliance with Donald Trump and European far-right political parties.
Tesla sales rose by 60% year-on-year, helped by an increase in demand for cheaper versions of its Model 3 and Model Y. The Model Y was the bestselling individual model across Europe during the period.
今年进口车辆已占据14%的市场份额，同时有指控称这些车辆正被倾销至欧盟和英国市场。
受英国强劲需求和低关税政策以及意大利购车人数激增的推动，中国电动汽车在欧洲的销量攀升至历史新高。
在有人声称中国汽车制造商为抢占市场份额，向欧盟和英国“倾销”受政府补贴的汽车之际，这些数据将推动要求实施配额和提高关税以保护欧洲制造商的呼声。
施密特汽车研究公司数据显示，今年前五个月，中国品牌电动汽车在西欧市场的销量占比升至14.2%，相当于每七辆纯电动车（BEV）中就有一辆来自中国。17.18万辆的销售业绩，较2025年同期市场份额提升了近五个百分点。
随着中国汽车产业试图主导全球电动汽车市场，比亚迪、奇瑞、上汽集团和小鹏等品牌纷纷将欧洲作为出口目标。在更严格的排放法规迫使欧洲传统制造商提高自身纯电动车销量的背景下，这一趋势给它们带来了巨大压力。
尽管欧盟对部分中国制造商生产的电动汽车征收高达35.3%的关税（叠加在10%的标准进口关税之上），其在欧洲市场的销量仍实现增长。
英国是中国汽车在欧洲的最大市场，因为该国政府拒绝效仿欧盟征收额外关税的做法。在西欧18个最大市场中，英国占据了中国纯电动汽车销量的四分之一。
尽管意大利占据了总量的五分之一，但施密特（Schmidt）表示这属于“异常现象”。中国制造商零跑汽车（Leapmotor）曾向该国出口数千辆低价T03电动车型，以利用政府提供的购车补贴。补贴政策一度使T03车型价格低至5000欧元——远低于竞争对手最优惠车型的售价。
今年中国制造商在欧洲销售了逾120款不同车型，而欧洲品牌同期仅推出约100款车型。
然而，施密特研究公司创始人马蒂亚斯·施密特（Matthias Schmidt）表示，中国在纯电动汽车市场的份额可能已达到峰值，部分原因是其将部分重心转向了插电式混合动力汽车。这种结合污染性汽油发动机与小容量电池的插混车型，目前尚未受到欧盟关税影响。
施密特表示："我认为他们在纯电动车型方面遇到了瓶颈。未来12个月内，鉴于混合动力车未被纳入仅针对纯电动车的额外关税，他们将优先发展插电式混合动力车（PHEV）。由于这个政策漏洞将在未来12个月内关闭，他们将尽可能长时间地利用这个窗口期。"
鉴于航运能力仍然有限，插电式混合动力汽车（PHEV）产量的增加意味着纯电动汽车（BEV）产量的减少，目前后者可能已达到峰值。一旦欧盟本土生产启动，纯电动汽车将重新获得优先地位。
大众汽车集团首席执行官奥利弗·布鲁姆上月呼吁改变这一现状。布鲁姆表示，欧洲插电式混合动力汽车（PHEV）与中国同类产品相比缺乏竞争力。德国《商报》报道称，欧盟正考虑将关税征收范围扩大至插电式混合动力汽车。
数据显示，特斯拉在欧洲市场的销量出现回升。去年，由于首席执行官埃隆·马斯克与唐纳德·特朗普及欧洲极右翼政党的结盟引发强烈反弹，这家美国汽车制造商的销量曾大幅下滑。
特斯拉销量同比增长60%，这得益于市场对其Model 3和Model Y低价版本需求的增长。在此期间，Model Y成为欧洲最畅销的单一车型。
