United Kingdom
Chinese cars in the United Kingdom: which brands sell there and since when
Facts checked
Britain is the largest single European market for Chinese-owned car brands. SAIC's MG has been on sale continuously since Longbridge assembly restarted in 2007, and finished 2025 as the tenth-largest brand in the country. BYD arrived in March 2023, Omoda in August 2024, Jaecoo in January 2025, Xpeng and Chery later in 2025, and Leapmotor through its Stellantis joint venture. SMMT recorded 2,020,520 new cars in 2025; analysis of those figures put Chinese-owned brands at about 9.7% of the market — close to 200,000 cars — and 12.7% of battery-electric registrations.
The UK did not follow the European Union. Cars imported from China pay only the standard 10% most-favoured-nation duty, with no anti-subsidy surcharge. The Business and Trade Secretary said in 2024 that the government had no plans for EU-style measures, and the Trade Remedies Authority has received no application from UK industry that would start a countervailing-duty investigation. A UK duty can only follow such an investigation.
Right-hand drive is the gate on entry. Brands launch in continental Europe first and reach Britain once right-hand-drive engineering is done: Xpeng's UK launch in February 2025 was its first right-hand-drive market, Zeekr has said late 2026, and Nio has still not launched, naming its Firefly sub-brand as the intended entry model.
A large share of the "European" electric cars sold in Britain are also built in China. Tesla's Model 3, the Mini Cooper Electric and Aceman, the Cupra Tavascan, Volvo's EX30 and S90, the Polestar range, the Citroën C5 X, the Lotus Eletre and Emeya and the smart #1 and #3 all ship from Chinese plants, and every MG sold here has come from China since Longbridge assembly ended in 2016.
At a glance
| Country code | GB |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Market status | Open |
| Brands recorded | 21 |
| Chinese-owned plants | 2 |
| Models on this site | 61 |
Brands sold in the United Kingdom
| Brand | Status | Since | Route to market | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 名爵MG | Sold | 2007 | The company itself | MG Rover collapsed in 2005 and the marque passed to Nanjing Automobile, which merged into SAIC in December 2007. Assembly restarted at Longbridge in August 2007 and ran until 2016; the MG6 in 2011 was the first all-new model. MG took 85,155 registrations in 2025 (a figure MG Motor UK gives; SMMT does not publish its brand table openly), tenth place among all brands for the second year running. |
| 比亚迪BYD | Sold | 15 March 2023 | The company itself | First UK customer deliveries of the Atto 3 on 15 March 2023, through Arnold Clark, Lookers, LSH Auto and Pendragon. 8,788 registrations in 2024 and 51,422 in 2025. |
| 欧萌达Omoda | Sold | 30 August 2024 | The company itself | Omoda 5 and E5 went on sale on 30 August 2024 from £25,235, through a 60-site network shared with Jaecoo. 19,855 registrations in 2025. |
| 奇瑞探索Jaecoo | Sold | January 2025 | The company itself | Order books for the Jaecoo 7 opened in January 2025 from £29,435. 28,232 registrations in 2025, of which 26,048 were the Jaecoo 7. |
| 奇瑞Chery | Sold | September 2025 | The company itself | Chery launched its own marque at an event in London with the Tiggo 7 (£24,995) and Tiggo 8 (£28,500), opening with 25 franchised sites. 1,287 registrations in its first month and about 5,500 in 2025. |
| 零跑Leapmotor | Sold | 2025 | A joint venture | Sold through Leapmotor International, the Stellantis–Leapmotor venture in which Stellantis holds 51%. 4,273 registrations in 2025. |
| 小鹏Xpeng | Sold | March 2025 | An independent importer | Launch announced 12 February 2025; the G6 was Xpeng's first right-hand-drive model, with deliveries from March 2025 through the distributor International Motors. 900 registrations in 2025. |
| 欧拉Ora | Withdrawn | 2023 | An independent importer | The Ora Funky Cat, renamed Ora 03 in 2023, was GWM's first UK model, imported by International Motors. Sales fell to 542 cars in 2025 and the 03 was withdrawn in April 2026. |
| 长城GWM | Sold | 2026 | An independent importer | GWM has begun registering cars under its own marque as it replaces Ora with Haval SUVs; it has said at least seven models and derivatives will arrive from mid-2026. SMMT recorded one GWM registration in August 2026. |
| 吉利Geely | Sold | 2025 | The company itself | Geely's own marque arrived late in 2025; 478 registrations in the year. |
| 长安Changan | Sold | 2025 | The company itself | Arrived in late summer 2025; 357 registrations in the year. |
| 腾势Denza | Sold | April 2026 | The company itself | BYD's premium marque launched in Europe in Paris on 8 April 2026, with the UK among the first five sales countries; UK pricing for the Z9 GT followed in July 2026. |
| 极星Polestar | Sold | 2020 | The company itself | Polestar 2 opened UK sales in 2020. Polestar is majority-controlled within the Geely Holding group; the 2, 3 and 4 are built in China. |
| 沃尔沃Volvo Cars | Sold | not published | The company itself | Volvo has sold cars in Britain since long before Geely Holding bought the company from Ford in 2010; entry year not established in this pass. Several current models, including the EX30 and S90, are built in China. |
| 路特斯Lotus | Sold | not published | The company itself | British marque based at Hethel in Norfolk; Geely Holding has held a controlling stake since 2017. The Emira is built at Hethel, the Eletre and Emeya in Wuhan. |
| 智马达smart | Sold | not published | The company itself | smart has sold in Britain since the late 1990s; entry year not established in this pass. Since 2020 the brand has been a 50/50 joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely Holding, and the #1 reached UK customers in 2023, built at Geely's Xi'an plant. |
| 上汽大通Maxus | Sold | not published | An independent importer | SAIC's Maxus (formerly LDV) sells mainly light commercial vehicles in Britain; SMMT recorded 47 passenger-car registrations in 2025. Entry year not established in this pass. |
| 开沃Skywell | Sold | not published | An independent importer | 31 passenger-car registrations in 2025. |
| 极氪Zeekr | Announced | not published | The company itself | Zeekr has said it will launch in the UK towards the end of 2026, with first customer cars expected in early 2027. Right-hand drive has been confirmed for the 7GT and is in development for the 9X. |
| 蔚来NIO | Announced | not published | The company itself | Nio has not launched in Britain. It has run research and development in the UK since 2015 and has signalled a partner-led launch. |
| 萤火虫Firefly | Announced | not published | The company itself | Nio's small-car brand is the intended UK entry model; a right-hand-drive Firefly was shown at the 2025 Guangzhou show for a 2026 launch. |
The rules
Stated from the document that issued them, with the date each was read. Nothing here is an interpretation.
| Rule | What it says | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import duty on cars from China | Cars imported into the United Kingdom from China pay the UK's standard most-favoured-nation duty of 10%. There is no UK–China trade agreement that lowers it, and no additional anti-subsidy surcharge applies. | AM-online (reporting Reuters) | |
| No countervailing duty on Chinese electric cars | The UK did not adopt the EU's 2024 anti-subsidy measures. The Business and Trade Secretary said in 2024 that the government had no plans for EU-style tariffs, and that the Trade Remedies Authority had received no complaint from UK industry that would trigger an investigation. Under UK law a countervailing duty can only follow a TRA investigation, which requires an application from the domestic industry. No such investigation had been opened as of this record's verification date. | AM-online (reporting Reuters) | |
| Zero Emission Vehicle mandate | The ZEV mandate set a 28% battery-electric share of new car registrations for 2025. SMMT recorded 473,348 new BEVs for the year, a 23.4% share; only December, at 32.2%, exceeded the annual target. | Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) | |
| Right-hand drive requirement | Britain requires right-hand-drive vehicles, which delays Chinese brands that launch in continental Europe first. Xpeng's UK entry in 2025 was its first right-hand-drive market anywhere, and both Nio and Zeekr have cited right-hand-drive engineering as the condition for a UK launch. | XPeng Inc. |
Chinese-owned plants in the United Kingdom
| Owner | Location | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geely Holding | Ansty, Coventry — London EV Company (LEVC) | March 2017 | LEVC's Ansty plant opened in March 2017 and builds the TX taxi and VN5 van. LEVC is owned by Geely Holding; this is the only purpose-built Chinese-owned vehicle factory in Britain. |
| Geely Holding | Hethel, Norfolk — Lotus Cars | June 2017 | The Hethel factory dates from 1966; Geely Holding took control of Lotus in June 2017. Hethel builds the Emira. Lotus's electric models are built in Wuhan. |
Western badges built in China and sold in the United Kingdom
| Model | Badge | Plant | Years | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MG3, MG4, MG5, HS, ZS and Cyberster | MG | SAIC plants in China | 2016–present | MG is a British marque owned by SAIC. Every MG sold in Britain has been built in China since kit assembly at Longbridge ended in 2016. |
| Model 3 | Tesla | Gigafactory Shanghai | 2021–present | UK Model 3s are supplied from Shanghai; the Model Y sold in Europe comes from Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg plant. Start year not confirmed from a primary source. |
| Cooper Electric (Cooper E and SE) | Mini | Spotlight Automotive, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu | 2023–present | Spotlight Automotive is a joint venture between BMW and Great Wall Motor. |
| Aceman | Mini | Spotlight Automotive, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu | 2024–present | |
| Tavascan | Cupra | Volkswagen Anhui, Hefei | 2024–present | In the EU this is the model covered by the first price undertaking the European Commission accepted, on 10 February 2026. The UK levies no such duty, so the undertaking has no bearing on British sales. |
| EX30 | Volvo | Zhangjiakou, Hebei; also Ghent, Belgium from April 2025 | 2023–present | Volvo Cars added Ghent production of the EX30 in April 2025 alongside the Chinese plant. |
| S90 | Volvo | Daqing, Heilongjiang | 2018–present | All S90s have been built in China since 2018. |
| EX40 and XC40 | Volvo | Luqiao, Zhejiang and Ghent, Belgium | unknown start; current | The Car Expert lists both Chinese and Belgian sources for UK cars; which plant supplies a given car is not published. |
| Polestar 2 | Polestar | Luqiao, Taizhou, Zhejiang | 2020–present | |
| Polestar 3 | Polestar | Chengdu, Sichuan | 2024–present | Polestar 3 is also built at Ridgeville, South Carolina for other markets. |
| Polestar 4 | Polestar | Ningbo (Hangzhou Bay), Zhejiang | 2024–present | |
| iX3 (first generation, G08) | BMW | BMW Brilliance, Shenyang, Liaoning | 2021–2025 | The first-generation iX3 was built only in Shenyang. The plant for its Neue Klasse successor is not established in this record. |
| C5 X | Citroën | Chengdu, Sichuan | 2022–present | Built only in China, for all markets. |
| #1 and #3 | smart | Xi'an, Shaanxi | 2023–present | smart is a 50/50 Mercedes-Benz–Geely Holding joint venture; the cars are built at Geely's Xi'an plant. |
| Eletre | Lotus | Wuhan, Hubei | 2023–present | |
| Emeya | Lotus | Wuhan, Hubei | 2024–present |
BMW iX3 (G08) · Citroen C5 X · Cupra Tavascan · Dacia Spring · Honda e:Ny1 · Lotus Eletre · Lotus Emeya · MG MG3 · MG MG4 EV · MG HS · MG ZS · Mini Cooper E / Cooper SE (J01) · Polestar Polestar 2 · Polestar Polestar 3 · Polestar Polestar 4 · Tesla Model 3 · Volvo EX30 · Volvo S90
Models recorded in the United Kingdom
| Model | Body | Status | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aion Aion UT | Hatchback | Announced | 320 km CLTC |
| BYD Atto 2 | SUV | Sold | 430 km WLTP |
| BYD Atto 3 | SUV | Sold | 508 km WLTP |
| BYD Dolphin | Hatchback | Sold | 427 km WLTP |
| BYD Seagull | Hatchback | Sold | 322 km WLTP |
| BYD Seal | Saloon | Sold | 570 km WLTP |
| BYD Sealion 5 | SUV | Sold | 61 km WLTP |
| BYD Sealion 6 | SUV | Sold | 80 km WLTP |
| BYD Sealion 7 | SUV | Sold | 482 km WLTP |
| BYD Shark 6 | Pickup | Sold | 100 km NEDC |
| BYD Song Pro | SUV | Sold | 75 km CLTC |
| Chery Tiggo 8 | SUV | Sold | 95 km NEDC |
| Deepal Deepal S05 | SUV | Sold | 520 km CLTC |
| Deepal Deepal S07 | SUV | Sold | 550 km CLTC |
| Denza Denza D9 | MPV | Announced | 98 km NEDC |
| Denza Denza Z9 GT | Estate | Sold | 161 km WLTP |
| Fangchengbao Bao 5 | SUV | Announced | 125 km CLTC |
| Geely EX2 | Hatchback | Announced | 310 km CLTC |
| Geely EX5 | SUV | Sold | 440 km CLTC |
| Geely Starray EM-i | SUV | Sold | 130 km CLTC |
| Haval Jolion | SUV | Sold | not published |
| IM Motors IM5 | Saloon | Sold | 490 km WLTP |
| IM Motors IM6 | SUV | Sold | 450 km WLTP |
| Jaecoo Jaecoo 5 | SUV | Sold | 399 km WLTP |
| Jaecoo Jaecoo 7 | SUV | Sold | 90 km WLTP |
| Jaecoo Jaecoo 8 | SUV | Sold | 134 km WLTP |
| Leapmotor B10 | SUV | Sold | 510 km CLTC |
| Leapmotor C10 | SUV | Sold | 605 km CLTC |
| Leapmotor T03 | Hatchback | Sold | 403 km NEDC |
| LEVC TX | MPV | Sold | 109 km (manufacturer figure, cycle not stated) |
| Lotus Eletre | SUV | Sold | 600 km WLTP |
| Lotus Emeya | Saloon | Sold | 610 km WLTP |
| Lotus Emira | Coupé | Sold | not published |
| MG MG3 | Hatchback | Sold | not published |
| MG MG4 | Hatchback | Sold | 437 km CLTC |
| MG MG5 | Saloon | Withdrawn | 320 km WLTP |
| MG MG Cyberster | Coupé | Sold | 507 km WLTP |
| MG MG HS | SUV | Sold | 135 km NEDC |
| MG MG S5 EV | SUV | Sold | 450 km WLTP |
| MG MG ZS | Crossover | Sold | 263 km WLTP |
| Omoda Omoda 5 | SUV | Sold | 430 km WLTP |
| Omoda Omoda 7 | SUV | Announced | not published |
| Omoda Omoda 9 | SUV | Sold | 169 km NEDC |
| Ora Ora 03 | Hatchback | Sold | 400 km NEDC |
| Polestar Polestar 2 | Hatchback | Sold | 658 km WLTP |
| Polestar Polestar 3 | SUV | Sold | 647 km WLTP |
| Polestar Polestar 4 | Crossover | Sold | 619 km WLTP |
| Polestar Polestar 5 | Saloon | Sold | 677 km WLTP |
| Skywell Skywell ET5 | SUV | Sold | 410 km NEDC |
| smart smart #1 | SUV | Sold | 311 km WLTP |
| smart smart #3 | Crossover | Sold | 325 km WLTP |
| smart smart #5 | SUV | Sold | 463 km WLTP |
| Volvo Cars EX30 | SUV | Sold | 344 km WLTP |
| Volvo Cars EX90 | SUV | Sold | 460 km WLTP |
| Volvo Cars XC40 / EX40 | SUV | Sold | 569 km WLTP |
| Volvo Cars XC60 | SUV | Sold | 77 km WLTP |
| Xpeng G6 | SUV | Sold | 625 km CLTC |
| Zeekr 001 | Estate | Announced | 710 km CLTC |
| Zeekr 007 | Saloon | Announced | 715 km CLTC |
| Zeekr 7X | SUV | Announced | 620 km CLTC |
| Zeekr X | SUV | Announced | 330 km WLTP |
Best sellers
| Model | Brand | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| MG HS | MG | 2025 | 30,191 registrations, eighth in SMMT's top ten models of 2025 and the best-selling Chinese-owned-brand car in Britain. |
| Jaecoo 7 | Jaecoo | 2025 | 26,048 registrations in the brand's first year, from analysis of SMMT data. |
| BYD | BYD | 2025 | Brand total: 51,422 registrations, up from 8,788 in 2024 — the largest single-year gain of any brand in the market. |
| MG | MG | 2025 | Brand total: 85,155 registrations, tenth-largest brand, up 4.4% on 2024. |
| Jaecoo 7 | Jaecoo | 2026 | 2,022 registrations in August 2026, second only to the Ford Puma in SMMT's monthly top ten. |
| MG HS | MG | 2026 | 1,785 registrations in August 2026, third in SMMT's monthly top ten. |
| Jaecoo 5 | Jaecoo | 2026 | 1,670 registrations in August 2026, fourth in SMMT's monthly top ten. |
Chinese cars in the United Kingdom: questions people ask
- How much of the UK car market do Chinese brands have?
- In 2025 Chinese-owned brands took about 9.7% of the 2,020,520 new cars registered — close to 200,000 vehicles — and 12.7% of battery-electric registrations. The share has kept climbing: in SMMT's August 2026 table BYD (4.10%), MG (5.26%), Jaecoo (4.27%), Chery (2.53%), Leapmotor (1.02%) and Xpeng (0.18%) together account for roughly 17% of that month's registrations.
- Does the UK charge extra tariffs on Chinese electric cars?
- No. Cars from China pay the UK's standard 10% most-favoured-nation import duty and nothing more. Britain did not copy the EU's anti-subsidy duties, because no UK producer has asked the Trade Remedies Authority to investigate and the government said in 2024 it had no plans to act.
- Which Chinese-owned car brands can you buy in the UK?
- MG, BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo, Chery, Leapmotor, Xpeng, GWM, Geely, Changan, Denza, Maxus and Skywell sell Chinese-brand cars here, and Polestar, Volvo, Lotus and smart are Western marques under Chinese ownership or joint ownership. Zeekr has announced a late-2026 launch and Nio has not yet started, though its Firefly brand is planned for 2026.
- Is the Dacia Spring sold in the UK?
- No. The Spring is built in Shiyan, Hubei by the Renault–Dongfeng joint venture and sold in EU markets, but it has never been offered in right-hand drive, so it is not available in Britain.
- Which cars sold in Britain are built in China but not Chinese brands?
- Tesla's Model 3, the Mini Cooper Electric and Aceman, the Cupra Tavascan, the Citroën C5 X, Volvo's EX30 and S90, the Polestar 2, 3 and 4, the smart #1 and #3, and the Lotus Eletre and Emeya. Every MG has been built in China since 2016, and the first-generation BMW iX3 came from Shenyang.
- Why did Xpeng, Nio and Zeekr arrive in Britain later than BYD?
- Because the UK needs right-hand drive. Chinese brands normally launch left-hand-drive Europe first and engineer right-hand drive afterwards. Xpeng's G6 in 2025 was the company's first right-hand-drive car anywhere; Zeekr has confirmed right-hand drive for a launch late in 2026; and Nio has not yet launched at all.
What changed
The only dated surface on this page. It records status changes, not news.
-
BYD's Denza brand puts the Z9 GT on sale in Britain following its European launch in Paris in April.
-
GWM withdraws the Ora 03 from the UK after four years, ahead of a Haval-led range from mid-2026.
-
SMMT publishes 2025 figures: 2,020,520 new cars, 23.4% battery-electric, with MG tenth among brands and the MG HS eighth among models.
-
Chery launches its own marque in Britain with the Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 8 and 25 franchised sites; 1,287 registrations in the first month.
-
Xpeng announces its UK launch; the G6, its first right-hand-drive model, begins deliveries in March 2025 through International Motors.
-
Jaecoo opens UK order books for the Jaecoo 7, from £29,435.
-
Leapmotor's first UK cars arrive, sold through Leapmotor International, the Stellantis–Leapmotor joint venture; 4,273 registrations in the year.
-
Omoda goes on sale in Britain with the 5 and E5, from £25,235.
-
BYD makes its first UK customer deliveries, of the Atto 3.
-
MG ends kit assembly at Longbridge; every MG sold in Britain since then has been built in China.
-
Nanjing Automobile, which had bought the MG marque and the Longbridge site after MG Rover's 2005 collapse, merged into SAIC, putting MG under SAIC ownership.
Related
Sources for United Kingdom
- Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK new car market breaches two million as almost one in four buyers go electric. Read . Full-year 2025 registrations: total, powertrain split, top ten models, ZEV mandate target.
- Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Car registrations. Read . SMMT's monthly registration hub, with the brand and model tables; August 2026 figures used here.
- Car Dealer Magazine, How did Chinese car brands fare in the UK in 2025? We analyse the sales figures. Read . Brand-by-brand 2025 analysis of SMMT data; source of the 9.7% combined share and the per-brand changes.
- AM-online (reporting Reuters), UK has no plans for EU-style tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Read . The Business and Trade Secretary on the absence of UK tariffs, the 10% standard duty and the Trade Remedies Authority's role.
- Wikipedia, MG Motor. Read . Finding aid, used for the 2005 Nanjing purchase, the December 2007 SAIC merger and the 2007–2016 Longbridge assembly period.
- CnEVPost, BYD enters UK passenger car market, starts selling Atto 3. Read .
- Autocar, Omoda 5 and E5 launch as brand's first UK cars from £25,235. Read .
- The Car Expert, Jaecoo launches in the UK. Read .
- XPeng Inc., XPENG announces its official launch in the UK. Read . Company announcement of the UK launch and the right-hand-drive G6.
- Stellantis N.V., Leapmotor International Begins Operations to Expand Global Electric Vehicle Sales Starting September 2024 in Nine European Countries. Read .
- Fleet World, Chery officially launches in the UK. Read .
- The Car Expert, Which new cars are built in China?. Read . Model-by-model list of non-Chinese marques built in China and sold in the UK, with plants.
- electrive.com, GWM discontinues Ora 03 electric hatchback in the UK. Read .
- Autocar, Nio confirms Firefly hatchback for 2026 UK launch. Read .
- CAR magazine, Zeekr: the Chinese brand with 'European soul' that'll launch in the UK in 2026. Read .
- Electrek, BYD launches the Denza Z9 GT EV in Europe and the UK. Read .
- Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars to build EX30 small SUV in Ghent as part of global production capacity boost. Read .
- Carwow, Jaecoo outsells Citroen in 2025 – how have other Chinese brands done?. Read . Per-brand and Jaecoo 7 model figures for 2025.