Chinese Cars Drive UK Sales Past Two Million

British drivers bought more than two million new cars in 2025 — the highest annual total since before the pandemic. The surprise engine behind that rebound? A sharp jump in vehicles made by Chinese manufacturers. Preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show Chinese brands made up roughly 9.7% of UK registrations last year, about 196,000 cars, almost double their share in 2024. Names such as MG, BYD and Chery (which also sells Jaecoo and Omoda models) have surged on dealer forecourts, with MG alone shifting 85,000 units — putting it level with some global heavyweights. BYD and Chery saw especially dramatic rises: BYD to 51,000 sales and Chery’s family of brands to 54,000. Electric car purchases also climbed sharply, up nearly a quarter on 2024 to a record 473,000, roughly 23.4% of all new cars. That growth helped bring average new-car emissions down by about 10% year on year. The SMMT’s chief executive described the results as a respectable performance given difficult economic and geopolitical conditions. But not all of the headlines are purely bright. The inflow of competitively priced imports has intensified pressure on established makers. Several Japanese and European brands lost ground, and the rise of cheaper Chinese models has complicated efforts by manufacturers to meet the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates. The government set a headline target of 28% battery-electric sales for 2025, but industry calculations — aided by new flexibilities introduced earlier in the year — suggest manufacturers may have avoided fines by effectively reaching a lower threshold. One notable dynamic behind rising EV uptake is heavy discounting. The SMMT estimates that manufacturers are offering average discounts of about £11,000 per electric car sold — a collective cost of roughly £5.5bn — while non-electric models are being discounted by around £6,000 on average. Plug-in hybrids have also become more popular, with sales up by a third, partly because they offer a cheaper route for makers to meet regulatory rules. The shift raises questions about long-term strategy. The UK government is due to review the ZEV rules; the SMMT wants that brought forward from 2027. Meanwhile, planned policies such as a pay-per-mile charge for electric vehicles, set for 2028, risk sending mixed signals to buyers when the state is still supporting EV take-up with grants. For drivers, the immediate benefit is more choice and lower prices. For the industry and policymakers, the picture is trickier: cheaper imports are expanding the market now, but they also reshape competition, emissions pathways and Britain’s automotive future. --- Managing your business finances? TaxAce provides smart online accountancy services for UK businesses with flexible monthly plans. Image and reporting: https://www.theguardian.com | Read original article