Once treated as curiosities or written off entirely, Chinese cars have quietly secured a firm foothold in the UK’s market. By the end of 2025, vehicles imported from the Far East are expected to make up around 10 percent of all new car sales in the country. The days when Chinese models were casually dismissed by Western buyers now seem increasingly out of step with reality.

Read: Europe Tried To Block Chinese Cars But Ended Up Helping Them Instead

A new report from The Guardian, citing European EV analyst Matthias Schmidt, estimates that once the final sales numbers for 2025 are in, Chinese brands will have sold more than 200,000 new vehicles in the UK.

MG and BYD Drive the Surge

The lion’s share of that success comes from three names in particular: MG, BYD, and Chery. Meanwhile, as Chinese manufacturers have gained ground, demand for Japanese cars has noticeably slipped.

MG continues to lead the pack by a wide margin. It sold over 70,000 cars in 2025, keeping pace with its strong performance from the previous year. BYD has also stepped up in a significant way, increasing its UK sales from fewer than 9,000 in 2024 to more than 40,000 this year. Their presence on British roads is no longer novel.

Several other Chinese brands posted significant gains during the year as well. Jaecoo sold over 20,000 vehicles, while Omoda came close to that same figure. Chery, Polestar, and Leapmotor have also continued to find traction with UK buyers, though on a somewhat smaller scale.

At the same time, Japanese brands have seen their market share in the UK slip by nearly a full percentage point over the past twelve months. The decline isn’t dramatic, but it is measurable, and it mirrors trends playing out across the continent.

Why Tariffs Didn’t Slow Things Down

As The Guardian reported, Chinese car sales have risen across the European continent despite the imposition of steep tariffs. In an effort to protect domestic manufacturers, European lawmakers introduced these measures late last year, targeting EVs produced in China. However, the tariffs do not apply to hybrid or internal combustion models, and sales of those have surged accordingly.

The UK, now outside the EU, has proven especially receptive to these brands. With no major domestic carmakers remaining, the market is wide open.

“With no genuine domestic volume brands for UK consumers to choose from, UK consumers crucially can no longer participate in what is known as patriotic purchasing,” said analyst Matthias Schmidt. “In Germany and France, half of each country’s new-car market is effectively in the control of domestic brands. While in China, we now also see that two-thirds of the market is accounted for by domestic brands.”