- Chinese carmakers seize record 14.07% of UK new-car market driven by booming BEV demand.
- BEV registrations jump 31% to 41,346 units, pushing electrified vehicles to 53.6% market share.
- MG leads Chinese surge with 12,761 registrations while BYD and Leapmotor post triple‑digit growth.
Data released on Wednesday by UK new-energy vehicle research firm New Automotive showed that total passenger vehicle registrations in the UK reached 152,331 units in May 2026, up 5.71% year-on-year.
Electric vehicles continued to be the fastest-growing segment of the market, significantly outpacing all other powertrain categories.
Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) registrations surged 31% year-on-year to 41,346 units in May, lifting BEV market share to 27% of total new-car registrations.
Electrified vehicles—including BEVs, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and hybrids (HEVs)—accounted for 53.6% of all new registrations, marking the third consecutive month that electrified vehicles represented more than half of the UK market.
By contrast, gasoline and diesel vehicle registrations declined 14% and 6%, respectively.
Driven by booming demand for battery-electric vehicles, Chinese automakers captured a record 14.07% share of the UK new-car market in May 2026.
Combined registrations of Chinese brands reached 21,427 units, up 42.3% year-on-year.
Chinese automakers outperformed Japanese brands for the second consecutive month, following the January-April period, with Japanese brands accounting for 13.12% of registrations in May.
MG, owned by SAIC Motor, remained the best-selling Chinese brand in the UK.
The company registered 12,761 vehicles in May, up 19.3% from a year earlier and accounting for nearly half of all Chinese-brand registrations in the country.
Chery Group ranked as the second-largest Chinese automotive group in the UK market.
Combined registrations from Chery, Omoda, and Jaecoo totaled 6,142 units, representing year-on-year growth of 87.2%.
BYD registered 3,928 vehicles during the month, a 118.6% increase from a year earlier, giving it a 2.6% share of the overall UK market.
Leapmotor, which has partnered with Stellantis for its European expansion, registered 1,897 vehicles in May, up 211% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing mainstream Chinese EV brand in the UK market.
Other emerging Chinese brands, including XPeng, Great Wall Motor, and Changan, collectively contributed approximately 2,100 registrations during the month.
Discover more from ChinaEVHome
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
