Chinese carmakers doubled EU market share to 5.9% in May 2025, led by MG & BYD, as car sales rose 2.5%. In the same period Renault Clio topped the model rankings.
How can chinese car makers with less than 6% market share and not actually exceptional growth compared to competitors be “the main driver of growth”? Other than “that’s the narrative we like to spread” of course…
Defamation in China […] can be prosecuted as a criminal offense. Badmouthing major companies, which are usually state-owned affairs or deeply linked to the Communist Party, can quickly land you in serious trouble. That’s true especially if you have a big audience and even if there’s truth to the negative claims. If a Chinese company proves in court that certain comments affected its image and reputation, that may be enough for legal action against an influencer […] In other words, negative comments about BYD, regardless of whether they have substance or not, could be a career-ending event for an influencer, and the potential massive reparations demanded by some companies could also bring them to financial ruin […]
So when the propaganda machine starts complaining about Chinese overproduction and insisting on tariffs start up again they can point to articles like this. Gotta load up the ammo for propaganda obviously.
What I cited was growth in May (with other brands having numbers from 3.3 to 6.3…) which then was followed by the statement that “Chinese car brands were the main driver of growth in May” with no numbers given. And that makes no sense.
Nobody doubts that the yearly growth is impressive (out of context that is - see below…) but that’s not what the “in May” statement is about.
Also we can find yearly numbers for registered EVs further down in the article. And sure… BYD’s +158% or Xpeng’s +350% for example look impressive. But then there are Skoda (+182%), Ford (+280%), Citroen (+411%), Porsche (+204%) with several of them having completely new entries in 2025’s most-registered top25… unlike those chinese brands. (Side note: the post’s description talks about increased market share “led by MG & BYD”… MG actually lost 40% in registered EV volume year to year.)
So I still see this as manufacturing hype about chinese EVs when in reality growth of chinese brands just reflects the growth of the electric share (massively for those bringing brand new models to that quickly changing market) in the total car market, with multiple European brands showing comparable (or better) performance.
Maybe I’m bad at maths but…
VW Group: +3.3%
Renault Group: +4.6%
BMW Group: +6.3%
Chinese Brands: +5.9%
How can chinese car makers with less than 6% market share and not actually exceptional growth compared to competitors be “the main driver of growth”? Other than “that’s the narrative we like to spread” of course…
BYD (along with other Chinese brands) are rolling out the red carpet for journalists and influencers to get positive reporting, and they sue anyone over ‘defamation’.
Currently, BYD sued 37 influencers and put another 126 on a watch list for disseminating what it deems as damaging content.
So when the propaganda machine starts complaining about Chinese overproduction and insisting on tariffs start up again they can point to articles like this. Gotta load up the ammo for propaganda obviously.
You read it wrong. They went from 2.9% market share to 5.9%. So the growth is 111%. More then doubling market share is exceptional growth.
What I cited was growth in May (with other brands having numbers from 3.3 to 6.3…) which then was followed by the statement that “Chinese car brands were the main driver of growth in May” with no numbers given. And that makes no sense.
Nobody doubts that the yearly growth is impressive (out of context that is - see below…) but that’s not what the “in May” statement is about.
Also we can find yearly numbers for registered EVs further down in the article. And sure… BYD’s +158% or Xpeng’s +350% for example look impressive. But then there are Skoda (+182%), Ford (+280%), Citroen (+411%), Porsche (+204%) with several of them having completely new entries in 2025’s most-registered top25… unlike those chinese brands. (Side note: the post’s description talks about increased market share “led by MG & BYD”… MG actually lost 40% in registered EV volume year to year.)
So I still see this as manufacturing hype about chinese EVs when in reality growth of chinese brands just reflects the growth of the electric share (massively for those bringing brand new models to that quickly changing market) in the total car market, with multiple European brands showing comparable (or better) performance.