Chinese carmakers overtake Renault in Europe in August

Europe’s new passenger car market posted solid gains in August, with Chinese manufacturers achieving a historic milestone by outselling Renault and Audi.

According to data from JATO Dynamics, 790,177 passenger cars were registered across the Europe-28* market in August 2025 — a 5.0% year-on-year increase. Growth was driven by strong performances in Germany (+5.0%), Poland (+15%), Spain (+18%) and Austria (+25%).

EV surge boosts growth

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continued to drive momentum, with registrations up 27% year on year. That lifted BEVs to a record 20.2% market share, an increase of 3.6 percentage points compared to August 2024. So far this year, 1.54 million BEVs have been registered across the region.

“The data shows that there was strong demand for BEVs in August, however a 27% increase is less significant than it looks when you consider how widely they are being promoted across Europe,” said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics.

He noted that the record share was partly influenced by Italy’s typically subdued August market.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) enjoyed an even stronger month, with 83,900 units registered — up 59% from a year earlier. The segment’s share rose to 10.6%. Chinese automakers, facing higher tariffs on BEV imports, are turning to PHEVs to expand their European footprint. Their registrations jumped from just 779 units in August 2024 to 11,064 last month. BYD has emerged as the eighth best-selling PHEV brand, while three Chinese models — the BYD Seal U, Jaecoo J7 and MG HS — ranked among the top 10.

Chinese brands outperform Renault and Audi

In total, more than 43,500 vehicles from Chinese brands were registered in Europe last month, marking a 121% year-on-year increase. That figure exceeded Audi’s 41,300 units and Renault’s 37,800.

Although the surge came from 40 different marques, five players — MG, BYD, Jaecoo, Omoda and Leapmotor — accounted for 84% of Chinese registrations. MG sold more cars than both Tesla and Fiat in August, while BYD overtook Suzuki and Jeep. Jaecoo and Omoda outpaced Alfa Romeo and Mitsubishi.

“European consumers are responding positively to the growing, competitive line-up from China’s car brands,” said Munoz. “It appears that these brands have successfully tackled the perception and awareness issues they have experienced.”

Volkswagen T-Roc tops model rankings

The Volkswagen T-Roc was Europe’s best-selling model in August, with nearly 14,700 registrations — up 14% year on year. The compact SUV has now been on the market for eight years, with its second generation recently unveiled.

The larger Volkswagen Tiguan followed closely, ranking fourth with volumes up 23%. Hyundai’s Tucson also posted strong results, climbing 28% to secure sixth place.

Meanwhile, despite a 38% decline in registrations, the Tesla Model Y remained Europe’s top-selling electric vehicle between January and August 2025.

Note: *Europe-28 includes: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, UK.