In the UK, Chinese cars have overtaken Fiat

The month of October 2024 continues to make headlines in the car industry. UK sales figures for October show that Chinese car manufacturers are making huge progress. Omoda registered 870 cars, BYD 780, and Fiat 779, according to figures published by industry group SMMT. For the Italian brand, this meant a 27 per cent drop compared to last year, in a market that lost 4.8 per cent.

This is an interesting case for at least two different reasons: on one hand the price (the United Kingdom did not follow the EU's move to impose duties on EVs produced in China and prices are therefore more competitive); on the other hand the policy on the transition to electric vehicles.

The United Kingdom wants manufacturers to reach a 22-per cent share of electric car sales this year (the so-called ZEV mandate) and manufacturers have found themselves forced to offer discounts, which they say are 'unsustainable', in order to reach this target. In October, according to SMMT data, the BEV share for new cars reached 21 per cent.

New Chinese models on the UK market:

Omoda 5 rolls into the UK as a budget Nissan Qashqai competitor

BYD Sealion 7: The new Chinese SUV is coming to the UK

Who sold the most?

Excluding Volvo, which is owned by Geely, Chinese brands accounted for 4.8 per cent of the market in the UK in October. MG Motor sold the most (5,303 units), but less than last year (-13 per cent), and Great Wall Motors also dropped 45 per cent with just 51 units registered in October.

BYD, on the other hand, did very well, as it is starting to add plug-in hybrid models to its electric range and increased registrations by 326 per cent in October. Omoda started selling cars in the UK in August and has 64 dealers. The Omoda 5, available in petrol and electric versions, is priced from £25,235 or £5,000 less than a Nissan Qashqai.

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Another newcomer is Leapmotor, backed by Stellantis, which opened orders in the UK for the T03 and C10 in October, and intends to open 50 dealerships by the end of the year. Also on the way, but without an official debut date at the moment, are the Nio, Xpeng, and Zeekr.

Stellantis' plans in the UK

In order to achieve the electric target in the UK, Stellantis had appealed to the government for support. Meanwhile, in October, sales of Vauxhall (also under Stellantis' umbrella) also slipped behind those of MG, down 46 per cent. Only Peugeot, which has a wider choice of electric vehicles, rose (+4.4 per cent) to a record 7,421 units.

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