BYD registered 27,641 vehicles across 17 European markets in May, a 135.4% year-over-year increase from an estimated 11,743 units in May 2025, according to data compiled by EV.
The total marked a 14.0% sequential increase from the 24,251 vehicles registered in April, as the Shenzhen-based automaker continued to expand its dealer network and model lineup across the continent.
The growth comes as the company prepares to launch the Dolphin G — a B-segment plug-in hybrid (PHEV) hatchback that represents BYD‘s first vehicle designed specifically for the European market.
As a PHEV, the model is not subject to the additional tariffs of up to 17% currently imposed by the European Commission on battery-electric vehicles imported from China, on top of the standard 10% base rate.
Deliveries are expected to begin by Autumn.
UK
The United Kingdom remained BYD‘s single largest European market in May, with 5,157 registrations — a 70% year-over-year increase and a 1.9% sequential rise from the 5,059 units recorded in April.
In May 2025, BYD had sold 3,025 vehicles in the UK, at the time a 407.6% surge from the prior year.
The company’s UK sales rose 658% in 2024 to more than 8,700 units and then jumped nearly fivefold to 51,422 vehicles in 2025.
BYD became the best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in the country last year, excluding legacy automakers and the originally British, now SAIC-backed MG.
Its lineup in the country includes both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, led by the Seal U DM-i SUV.
The Dolphin G is expected to make its UK debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, with pricing tipped to start from under £20,000 — which would make it both the smallest and cheapest plug-in hybrid on sale in Britain.
BYD sold 294 units in Ireland last month — a 158% increase year-over-year, but a 19.9% sequential decline from the 367 sold in April.
Northern Markets
Norway, the world’s leading country in EV adoption with an electric share above 95%, posted 567 registrations in May — up 10% year over year and 32.2% from the 429 vehicles sold in April.
The relatively modest annual growth rate stands in contrast to the triple-digit gains seen across most other European markets.
BYD announced expansion to Norway in 2020 and started deliveries of its Tang SUV in 2021, making it the company’s longest-established European market.
The brand sold 5,927 vehicles in Norway in 2025, more than double the 2,669 recorded in 2024.
Despite the Nordic region having among the highest EV adoption rates globally, BYD has struggled to gain a strong foothold in Scandinavia compared to its rapid expansion in Central and Southern Europe.
Its best-selling models — the entry-level Dolphin and Dolphin Surf compact vehicles, and the Atto 2 and Atto 3 SUVs — are urban-focused and available only in front-wheel drive, lacking the rear-wheel and all-wheel drive options typically favoured in Nordic markets.
Those drivetrain configurations are offered only on BYD‘s more premium models, such as the Seal and Han sedans and the Sealion 7 and Tang SUVs.
Elsewhere in the region, Denmark registered 322 vehicles, up 82% year over year, while Sweden posted 345 units — a 354% surge from a low base.
Finland recorded 114 vehicles, up 936% from a negligible figure a year ago.
The Netherlands registered 549 vehicles, up 73% year over year and slightly ahead of the 517 recorded in April.
Central Europe
Germany was BYD‘s second-largest European market in May, with 6,168 registrations — a 232% year-over-year increase and a 31.1% sequential rise from the 4,705 units recorded in April.
The figure marked a new monthly record in Europe’s largest automotive market, extending a steady climb that has seen German registrations accelerate throughout 2026: from 2,629 in January, to 3,053 in February, 3,438 in March, and 4,705 in April.
BYD‘s German subsidiary has targeted 50,000 vehicle sales in the country for 2026.
Year-to-date registrations through May reached approximately 19,993, putting the company roughly 40% of the way toward that goal.
BYD entered Germany in late 2022 through a partnership with Hedin Mobility Group and has since expanded to seven key dealership partners — Hedin, Reisacher, Reiss, Senger, Stern Auto, Stern Partner, and Torpedo — forming a nationwide network.
The brand’s German lineup now spans the Atto 2 compact SUV, Dolphin and Dolphin Surf hatchbacks, Seal sedan, Sealion 7 and Seal U midsize SUVs, and the Seal 6 DM-i estate — the company’s first wagon model in Europe.
The powertrain mix has shifted: January registrations in Germany were split 59.4% BEV and 40.6% PHEV, reflecting the company’s push into plug-in hybrids to match local demand.
BYD‘s European Regional Managing Director Maria Grazia Davino said late last year that the company’s lineup in Europe now covers approximately 90% of customer demand.
Poland registered 1,048 vehicles, a 183% year-over-year increase and an 18.7% sequential gain from April.
Austria posted 672 units, up 52% year over year but down sharply from 1,243 in April, when the market appeared to benefit from a one-time registration spike.
Belgium and Luxembourg combined for 507 registrations, up 75%, while Switzerland — where BYD expanded in April 2025 — recorded 580 vehicles, a 1,015% increase from the 52 units sold a year earlier.
The Czech Republic registered 97 vehicles, up 1,113% from a near-zero base.
Southern Europe
Southern European markets accounted for the largest regional share of BYD‘s May registrations.
Italy emerged as the company’s third-largest market on the continent with 6,019 units — a 210% year-over-year increase and a 31.6% sequential rise from 4,572 in April. In May 2025, BYD had sold 703 vehicles in the Italian market.
The company expanded to Italy in 2023 with the fully electric Atto 3 SUV and the Han sedan.
France registered 2,585 vehicles, a 176% year-over-year increase and a modest 2.1% sequential gain from April’s 2,533 units.
In May 2025, BYD had recorded 938 registrations in the country.
Spain posted 1,650 vehicles in May, up 62% year over year and 7.6% from April.
BYD surpassed 40,000 cumulative registrations in Spain earlier this year, marking three years since it expanded its passenger vehicle lineup to the Iberian Peninsula.
The company sold 25,556 vehicles in the country in 2025, up from 5,393 in 2024 and 628 during its partial first year in 2023.
BYD has emerged as a leading force in Spain’s plug-in hybrid segment — its DM-i models held a 21.3% share of all PHEV registrations in March, ranking first.
The Atto 2 was BYD‘s best-selling plug-in vehicle in Spain through the first quarter, with 3,491 units and a 5.9% share.
Portugal recorded 967 registrations, a 66% year-over-year increase and the market’s strongest month of 2026, more than doubling from the 483 vehicles sold in April.
European Manufacturing
BYD‘s European manufacturing strategy remains centered on its Szeged, Hungary facility, where trial production of the compact Dolphin Surf began in January.
Executive VP Stella Li told Reuters this month that equipment installation is still underway and that series production is now expected in the fourth quarter — roughly a year behind the original timeline.
Hungary has been BYD‘s primary gateway into Europe since it began producing electric buses in the country in 2017.
The company also relocated its European headquarters from the Netherlands to Budapest last year.
She described Hungary as “the number one priority” and said the company’s second priority would be finding an additional production facility in Europe.
BYD has been in talks with Stellantis and other European automakers about acquiring underutilized factories across the continent, including in Italy.
Stella Li confirmed the discussions at the Financial Times’ Future of the Car conference in London last month.
Portugal has also been considered for a third European factory, due to its relatively low manufacturing costs and clean energy network.
The automaker has a target of operating 2,000 sales points across Europe by the end of 2026.
Overseas Sales
BYD‘s European expansion is part of a broader international push.
The company sold 376,990 passenger vehicles globally in May, essentially flat from the 376,930 units delivered in the same month a year ago, with the overseas record offsetting a continued domestic decline to just above 216,000 vehicles.
Of those, 160,644 were sold outside China, a new all-time monthly record and an 80% year-over-year increase.
Overseas volume accounted for approximately 42.6% of total May sales — up from roughly 23.6% a year earlier.
BYD has raised its overseas sales target to 1.5 million units for 2026, up from 1.3 million set earlier in the year.
The company exported more than one million vehicles in 2025 for the first time, covering over 100 markets.
