Shocking news for the European new car market. Last month, a Chinese car occupied the second position in the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) new registrations ranking, confirming the rapid growth that some of these companies, like BYD, are having across the region.
The data revealed by JATO Dynamics indicates that the BYD Seal U with its plug-in hybrid powertrain registered 3,918 units during the month in 28 European markets. This total puts this Chinese SUV in the second position in the PHEV ranking, only behind the German-made Volkswagen Tiguan with 4,485 units.
What is even more interesting is that year-to-date volumes also put the Tiguan and Seal U in first and second positions, but with a higher growth rate for the latter. By the end of August, the Volkswagen was ahead of the BYD by almost 3,200 units, meaning that we could see the latter outselling the former by the year-end.
Not only BYD
The incredible progress made by Chinese manufacturers in Europe does not stop at BYD. August’s top 10 included two other models coming from this country. At the 7th position there is the Jaecoo J7 from Chery Group, and at the 9th position there is the MG HS from SAIC Group.
These are remarkable results posted by these three Chinese makers. They confirm their latest move to face the tariffs on their electric cars by increasing their presence in other alternative fuel segments like the PHEVs and HEVs (full hybrids). In fact, most of the growth posted by the Chinese car brands this year has been driven by these two powertrains and not so much by the BEVs.
Between January and August of this year, the BEVs represented 30% of the Chinese car brands’ sales against 38% from PHEV and HEV combined.
The other models from the PHEVs top 10 in August
Behind the Tiguan and Seal U, there was the Volvo XC60 with 3,378 units. It was followed by the Ford Kuga with 3,023 units, and the Toyota RAV4 with 2,856 units. The sixth position was occupied by the BMW X1 which registered 2,724 units. Its bigger brother, the BMW X3, registered 2,387 units at 8th position, while the Hyundai Tucson completed the top 10 with 2,221 units.
Among them, the BYD Seal U was the most dependent on this powertrain, with its PHEV version accounting for 86% of its total registrations during the month. It was followed by Volvo XC60 (75%), and the Jaecoo J7 (72%).
