The Chinese EV giant believes that UK sales rise by 880 %
The Chinese cars giant BYD says that the UK has become its largest market outside China, after its sales increased by 880 % in September compared to the previous year.
The company says it sold 11,271 cars in the United Kingdom last month, as the hybrid version of the Seal U SPORTS (SUV) is the majority of sales.
This comes after numbers from the Automobile Industry Authority showed that the SMMT and the SMM Corps Association showed that electric car sales (EVS) jumped to a record level in September.
The UK is especially attractive to companies such as BYD, as the country has not imposed a tariff on Chinese EVS, unlike other major markets such as the European Union and the United States.
BYD, which offers cheaper models than many of its western competitors, said its share of the UK market jumped to 3.6 % in September.
UK director Bono GE said that the company will launch more hybrid and electrical cars in the coming months. He added that the future of the brand in Britain seems “very exciting”, as the hundred retailer has opened.
EV sales in the United Kingdom reached a record last month, with sales of pure electric car to rise to approximately 73,000, according to SMMT.
She said that the sales of hybrid cars grew faster.
Kia Sportage, Ford Puma and Nissan Qashqai were the best -selling cars in September. Chinese models – Jaecoo 7 and BYD SEAL U – were also in the top ten.
But despite the increase in EV’s total sales in the UK, gasoline and diesel vehicles still constitute more than half of new car sales last month, according to SMMT.
In October last year, the European Union announced that it would reach Chinese EVS imports with fees of up to 45 %.
This measure aims to protect European car makers from undermining what the European Union believes are unfair subsidies in Chinese countries.
Chinese car makers such as BYD have been effectively closed from the United States due to the high customs tariff, which was supported by President Donald Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden.