Sales of the Chinese giant BYD in the Netherlands surged 44.7% in May to 317 vehicles, according to official data released on Monday.
Registrations have risen steadily since the start of 2025, despite a minor decline of two units in April.
May marked BYD’s best sales month in the Dutch market so far this year as the Shenzhen-based company continues to expand its portfolio in Europe.
BYD continued to lead the Dutch market when it comes to Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) brands. XPeng recorded 114 units in May, while Geely-backed Polestar and Zeekr sold 134 and 155, respectively.
Nio registered 5 EVs in the country — down from 20 registered a year ago.
Tesla’s figures jumped to 1,057 vehicles in May, compared to the 382 units sold in April. However, registrations were down 36% year over year.
Late last month, data from Jato Dynamics revealed that BYD surpassed Tesla in European BEV sales for the first time in April.
Sales per Model
The Seal U SUV, which is priced from €45,690 ($51,800), represented 71% (or 225) of the total vehicles sold. The brand sold 16 Seal sedans — a model with prices beginning at €41,690 ($47,200).
BYD’s fully electric compact SUV Atto 2 was launched earlier this year in Europe. Registrations for what the company calls the “most accessible SUV” reached 12 units.
Prices start at €31,690 ($35,900) in the Netherlands.
The brand sold 28 units of its bigger Atto 3 SUV, which is priced from €39,690 ($45,000).
BYD Netherlands is currently offering discounts up to €5,000 in inventory units of its Dolphin and Atto 3 models, for purchases made until June 30.
In the same period, the brand is also offering customers purchasing the Seal U a free upgrade from the Design variant to the Comfort one — valued at €3,000 ($3,400).
In mid-May, BYD launched the Dolphin Surf in Europe. The model is known as the Seagull in China and is the company’s best-seller in its domestic market. In the final days of May, BYD sold 15 units.
The city compact is priced from €22,990 in the Netherlands, equivalent to $26,000. Competitors to the model in Europe include the Hyundai Inster — which represented 335 of the total 1,260 units sold by Hyundai last month.
The South Korean carmaker Kia was the best-selling brand in the Netherlands last month, with over 3,000 units sold.
From a total of 30,188 vehicles sold, 10.440 were BEVs, a 34.6% market share. Hybrid models were the preferred consumer choice in the Dutch market, representing nearly 50% of the market.
Global Expansion
BYD established its European headquarters in Hungary, where it is building its first passenger vehicle factory — which is set to start production in 2026.
BYD delivered 382,476 vehicles in May, from which 89,047 were overseas deliveries — a 137.5% growth from May 2024.
The company posted a new record-high in international sales for the sixth consecutive month.
The company set a global goal of 5.5 million vehicle sales for this year, including 800,000 units overseas. BYDÂ sold 1,763,369 vehicles from January 1 to May 31, reaching 32% of its 2025 target.
