EV Manufacturers' Nightmare: Chinese Brands' Onslaught in Europe

KatadataOTO – For the first time, sales of EV (Electric Vehicle) BYD in Europe have surpassed its strongest rival, Tesla. This is an important achievement in BYD's efforts to expand its market.

The number of pure electric cars by BYD registered in Europe throughout April 2025 was 7,231 units. Meanwhile, Tesla followed behind with 7,165 units.

Reported by Euronews, Monday (26/05), Tesla's sales in Europe plummeted by 58 percent within two months. This was caused by a flood of Chinese products in the market.

Not only BYD, in Europe there are currently several other well-known brands such as Geely and MG, which are under SAIC.

Photo : KatadataOTO

In February 2025, it was recorded that around 20 thousand Chinese electric cars were registered in Europe, starting to surpass the achievements of Tesla and other local rivals.

In fact, the market share of electric cars from China increased from four percent to 19 percent, all in just five years.

It seems that Chinese manufacturers are still thinking of ways to face the import tariffs that will be imposed on their electric cars. One of them is through PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) products.

Analysts assess that many Chinese manufacturers have successfully attracted attention in various sectors, not just automotive, by presenting capable innovations. However, the prices offered also tend to be lower compared to other similar models.

“But some of them rely entirely on rapid (production) scale and unfair price wars,” wrote Saman Rizwan, an analyst from Euronews.