Chinese Carmakers Keep Gaining Ground in Europe as Monthly Sales Surge

Chinese Carmakers Keep Gaining Ground in Europe as Monthly Sales Surge

By Mauro Orru

Chinese carmakers logged strong growth in European sales once again last month, making strides in winning over drivers on the continent as domestic rivals struggle to remain competitive.

New-car registrations for BYD models, a reflection of sales, more than doubled on year last month to 26,007 units across the European Union, the U.K., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, an industry body also known as ACEA.

BYD and other Chinese automakers have witnessed substantial growth in Europe in recent years thanks to their relatively cheap lineups of vehicles that are enticing local drivers and inflicting pain on domestic carmakers.

SAIC Motor's registrations jumped 32% to 21,214 units, while Leapmotor logged a more than threefold increase to 7,630 vehicles. In contrast, Germany's Volkswagen recorded a 3.6% decline in sales to 210,818 units, while Renault's slumped 4.4% to 71,906 vehicles.

While August tends to be a slow month for car registrations in Europe since many dealerships close for the summer holidays, the schism in the re...