China giant BYD sold 270 vehicles in the Netherlands in March, up 58% from the same period in 2024 — according to official data released on Tuesday.
Of the registered vehicles, 171 were BYD’s Seal U SUV — matching BYD’s total sales during the same period last year across all its models.
BYD sales in the Dutch market have been sequentially growing since January, having reached a record in December last year, with 414 registered vehicles. The company was the best-selling Chinese brand in March, as European markets continue to see growing competition from automakers based in the world’s largest EV market.
The Seal series was the most popular in Dutch sales last month. Besides the SUV model, which starts at €45,690 ($49,300), its sedan version sold 28 units. Prices of the Seal sedan begin at €41.690, equivalent to $45,000.
The carmaker announced in early February that its fully electric compact SUV, the Atto 2, was arriving in Europe and the UK, with a Comfort variant in the third quarter. Prices for what the company calls the “most accessible SUV” in Europe start at €31,690 ($34,215) in the Netherlands.
March registration data shows that 12 Atto 2s were registered while the bigger Atto 3, which prices start at €39,690 ($42,900), recorded 43 units.
Competitors
Looking at the sales figures of other Chinese brands, Polestar and MG registered 165 vehicles each, and Zeekr and XPeng followed with 87 and 81 respectively. Zeekr’s direct rival Nio recorded 13 units.
Tesla led the Dutch market in March, with 1,526 vehicles registered, followed by Kia at 1,137. Kia recently launched its new EV3 model, which was the most recorded BEV in the same period.
EV adoption
In March, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) represented 35.5% of all new car sales in the Netherlands, with hybrids making up almost half of the total. During the first quarter, 32,439 EVs were registered, marking a 7.9% year-on-year increase and securing a 35.3% market share.
Hybrids accounted for 46.8% of the market, with 42,931 registrations, while petrol-powered vehicles saw a decline, dropping to 16.5% of the market, or 15,157 units.
BYD in Europe
BYD is currently building its first European passenger car factory in Hungary, as announced in December 2023, becoming the first Chinese carmaker to produce locally aiming to avoid the tariffs announced by the European Union late last year on imported EVs from China. The company is also aiming to start vehicle production in Turkey next year.
After arriving in European markets in late 2022, the Chinese company has now “over 250 stores in 20 countries in Europe.”
The automaker announced on Wednesday it is expanding to the Swiss market with three of its models: Seal, Sealion 7 and Seal U DM-i. The company aims to have a sales network with 15 locations by the year end.
BYD announced on Tuesday that its global sales in March reached 377,420 units, a 24.8% increase year over year. Overseas sales reached a new record with over 77,000 units.
