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In July the 22 Chinese brands available in Europe sold 25,564, a year on year increase of 131%.
Over the same period, their market share doubled from 1.27% to 2.51%. But according to Jato Dynamics, which released the figures, 88% of the volume registered by Chinese manufacturers were from MG, Lynk & Co, and DR Automobiles, brands that are not positioning themselves as Chinese in origin.
Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said: “Reputation and brand awareness are the two biggest challenges that Chinese OEMs face, particularly in the West, and they’re very aware of that.
“Changing this perception will require a lot of work – more than simply offering a good product at a competitive price.”
Overall, across Europe car registrations rose by 17% in July, marking 12 consecutive months of positive year-on-year growth.
After just over a year of monthly decline – between July 2021 and July 2022 – the market has been on a positive trajectory since August 2022.
In total, 1,018,403 new passenger cars were registered last month, compared to 873,825 units in July 2022. The year-to-date volume jumping from 6,460,730 units in 2022 to 7,581,537 in 2023 – marking the highest result since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.