Chinese-owned car brands took a record share of the UK market in June, led by Chery‘s three marques, MG and BYD, as newer entrants such as Leapmotor and XPeng posted the steepest growth in the industry.
China-badged brands together registered about 35,200 cars, or 16.5% of the 213,166 sold in the month, by EV‘s calculation from the SMMT marque table, which does not publish a combined Chinese figure.
The share rises to 20.9% when the European marques owned by China’s Geely, including Volvo and Polestar, are added — according to figures published Monday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The 16.5% China-badged figure is nearly double the 8.5% those brands held in June a year earlier, by EV‘s calculation.
In absolute terms, China-badged registrations more than doubled, from 16,225 in June 2025 to about 35,200 in June this year.
The gains came as the overall market rose 11.4% to its strongest June since 2019, with battery-electric vehicles reaching a record 30.0% share for the year.
Chery’s Three-Brand Surge
Chery was the largest Chinese group in the market by June volume.
The company’s three UK marques — the Chery badge, Jaecoo and Omoda — together registered 13,590 cars, up from 3,777 a year earlier, a rise of 259.8%.
The combined total out-registered Tesla, the second-best-selling brand in the market that month.
Jaecoo led the trio at 6,071, up 149.6%, while Omoda rose 173.8% to 3,683 and the Chery marque itself, absent from the market a year ago, registered 3,836.
Omoda & Jaecoo are the international brands Chery created for export, and both have scaled quickly since reaching the UK.
Across the first half, the three brands have registered 70,807 cars combined, with Jaecoo up 305.6% and Omoda up 170.3% year to date.
MG and BYD Anchor the Volume
MG, owned by China’s SAIC, remained the largest single Chinese brand and the fifth-best-selling marque overall in June.
Registrations rose 37.5% to 10,395, a 4.9% share, and reached 48,741 over the half-year, up 14.4%, more than any other Chinese brand.
BYD, the world’s largest maker of electric and plug-in vehicles, rose 36.2% to 6,242 in the month.
The Shenzhen-based company has nearly doubled its year-to-date total to 37,795, from 19,390 a year earlier, a rise of 94.9%.
The Fastest Risers
The steepest growth came from the market’s most recent arrivals.
Leapmotor, sold internationally through a venture with Stellantis, posted the largest percentage rise of any marque in the UK, up 1,403.5% to 2,150 from 143 a year earlier, and has climbed more than twelvefold to 6,770 over the half-year.
The Stellantis venture gives Leapmotor access to an established European dealer and service network, a channel most Chinese newcomers have had to build from scratch.
XPeng registrations more than doubled to 245 in June and have more than quadrupled to 767 year to date.
The Geely marque, new to the UK this year, added 2,119 in the month, while Aion, the electric brand of China’s GAC, entered the registration data for the first time.
The breadth of the field has widened alongside the volume, with the Chinese roster now spanning budget city cars, mid-market SUVs and executive models.
Where the Line Falls
The size of the Chinese presence depends on where ownership is counted.
The 16.5% figure covers only China-badged marques, among them MG, BYD, the Chery group, Leapmotor, XPeng and the Geely badge.
Adding the European marques that Geely owns lifts the total to 20.9%, a swing driven almost entirely by Volvo, which registered 6,317, and Polestar, at 2,554.
Polestar was the one Chinese-owned marque to fall, slipping 1.6% year-on-year in what was its second monthly decline of 2026, though it remains ahead over the half-year.
Two limits apply to any Chinese total drawn from the data.
The figures cover registrations across every powertrain rather than battery-electric cars alone, so the numbers for brands such as MG and BYD include their petrol and hybrid models.
Smaller marques and sub-brands not given their own line in the SMMT table fall into an “other imports” category of 79 units, meaning any Chinese tally is a floor rather than a ceiling.
Over the first half, China-badged brands registered about 173,300 cars, 15.2% of the market by EV‘s count, below June’s 16.5% and a sign the share is still climbing as the year runs on.
A Record Market, a Mandate Gap
The Chinese advance is unfolding as the wider market shifts toward electric power without moving fast enough to satisfy regulation.
Registrations of fully electric vehicles rose 35.0% in June to 63,950 and took a 30.0% share, the highest of the year, yet the year-to-date figure of 25.0% remains below the 33% required for 2026 under the UK’s zero-emission vehicle mandate.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, wrote in a mid-June critique that the assumptions behind the mandate “no longer hold,” arguing that rules built for stronger demand and cheaper energy no longer match the market.
The trade body says manufacturers have spent more than £12 billion on discounts to lift demand, a burden that has fallen heavily on the price-competitive Chinese entrants now expanding fastest.
More than 160 fully electric models are on sale in the UK, up from about 130 at the start of 2025, widening the choice that has helped brands such as BYD and MG build volume.
Aggressive pricing has been central to that volume, with the Chinese entrants typically undercutting European rivals on comparable models.
The mandate tightens further from here, requiring a 38% zero-emission car share in 2027, 52% in 2028 and 100% by 2035.
