UK car sales top 2m in 2025 as Chinese brands boom

An MG5 electric car on a dealership forecourt. Chinese brands have pushed into the UK which, unlike the US or the EU, has not imposed tariffs on imports from the country. Photograph: allanbellimages/Alamy

A rise in the popularity of Chinese brands pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, figures reveal.

Chinese companies accounted for 9.7% of the 2m new car registrations in the UK in 2025, or 196,000 vehicles, according to preliminary figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. That was nearly double the 4.9% market share achieved by the country’s carmakers in 2024.