BYD UK sells more cars in Q1 2025 than in entire 2024

BYD UK has reported a significant milestone in the first quarter of 2025, selling more passenger vehicles in three months than it did throughout the whole of last year.

The Chinese automaker delivered 9,271 passenger cars between January and March 2025, surpassing the 8,787 units it sold across all of 2024. The result marks the company’s most successful quarter since entering the UK passenger car market in March 2023.

The Q1 figure represents a 625% increase compared to the same period last year and boosts BYD’s UK market share to 1.6%, up from 0.45% in 2024. In March alone, the brand held a 1.8% market share.

BYD’s recent growth has positioned it as the fastest-growing car brand in the UK, with key models driving the surge. The SEAL U DM-i was the top-selling plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in March, registering 3,975 units. Meanwhile, the all-electric SEAL model accounted for 2,521 registrations, making it the seventh most popular battery electric vehicle (BEV) in the country for the month.

The expansion of BYD’s lineup in March included the launch of the SEALION 7, an electric SUV based on the company’s e-platform 3.0 and equipped with its proprietary Blade Battery. The SEALION 7 has an electric driving range of up to 312 miles.

Although BYD’s passenger vehicle presence in the UK is relatively new, the company has operated in the country for over a decade through its commercial vehicle division. BYD first introduced electric buses to UK roads in 2014, with more than 2,500 now in service nationwide. The firm has also contributed 1.8GWh of battery storage capacity to the UK’s national grid since 2016.

The first-quarter performance highlights BYD’s accelerating momentum in the UK automotive sector, bolstered by growing consumer interest in both plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles.