BYD sales in Germany and the UK — the two largest auto markets in Europe — have surged significantly in January.
In the German market, the Chinese giant’s vehicle registrations soared by over 1,000%, while doubling in the UK.
BYD entered both markets in early 2023; however, sales only picked up last year, when monthly registrations remained consistently above 1,000 units.
UK Sales
Last month, BYD registered 4,021 vehicles in the UK, more than doubling from the 1,614 units sold in January 2025.
According to monthly registration figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), the plug-in hybrid BYD Seal U DM-i ranked as the sixth best-selling model across all powertrains.
The model represented 2,550 units — 63.4% of all BYD sales in January.
In the UK, the brand offers 10 models: five battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and five plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
The lineup mainly consists of sport-utility vehicles, along with the Seal sedan and the Dolphin and Dolphin Surf city compacts.
While the SMMT does not break down figures by model or powertrain, data from platform EU-EVs, which tracks electric vehicle registrations, shows that 1,285 of the total 4,021 units sold in January were fully electric.
This indicates that 32% of the registrations were BEVs, and that while PHEVs accounted for the remaining 68%, PHEV models besides the Seal U only accounted for 4.6% of the sales.
The Seal sedan was the best-selling EV in the lineup, with 318 units having been registered in January, according to the platform.
UK Market
Last month, vehicle registrations in the UK rose 3.4% year over year to 144,127 units, of which 29,654 were fully electric, and 18,557 were plug-in hybrids.
The year-on-year change for BEVs was minimal — just 0.1% growth, in a market share of 20.6%. PHEV sales jumped 47.3%, with the powertrain recording a share of 12.9%.
As auto sales typically slow down in the first month of each year, automakers saw their sales plunge compared to December. BYD figures nearly halved from December’s 7,682 units.
XPeng, which sold 150 units last month, did not register any cars in January.
Tesla saw both year over year and sequential sales tumble, as it sold 718 vehicles last month — 51% down from a year ago.
Geely-backed Polestar, for which the UK is one of the largest markets, had a 43% increase in sales compared to 2025, with 1,070 units registered in January.
2025 Figures
BYD was the best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in the country in 2025, excluding legacy automakers and the originally British, now SAIC-backed MG.
Last year, its sales jumped nearly fivefold to 51,422 units — a staggering surge from the 8,788 vehicles registered in full-year 2024.
Germany Sales
In Germany, the Shenzhen-based company registered 2,629 vehicles last month, according to data published by the KBA on Wednesday.
The figures represented an elevenfold increase compared to the 235 units sold a year ago.
Compared to December, sales fell about 37% from 4,109 units. The last month of 2025 marked a year-on-year 1,172% increase.
Contrarily to the UK, which has a balanced lineup of both powertrains and where hybrids lead the market, BYD‘s portfolio in Germany mostly includes BEVs.
The company offers seven fully electric models, from the cheaper Dolphin Surf compact to the premium Tang SUV, and three plug-in hybrids — one of them being the recently launched Atto 2.
Germany’s KBA does not break down monthly registrations by model, and January figures were not yet available on EU-EVs as of press time.
German Market
In January, overall passenger vehicle sales in Germany declined 6.6% year over year to 193,981 units.
However, the share of EVs increased from January 2025, as EVs accounted for 42,692 of the total cars sold last month — with a 22% market share.
Other Chinese automakers extended their share in the German market last month, from record deliveries in 2025, including XPeng and Stellantis-backed Leapmotor.
Premium EV maker Nio, on the other hand, saw its worst sales month since January 2023, with only one vehicle registered.
2025 Figures
In December, BYD‘s fully electric vehicles represented the majority of its sales in Germany, with 2,218 registrations in the total 4,109 — a share of 54%.
The BYD Dolphin Surf, launched in May, was the best-seller with 715 units, followed by the Sealion 7 SUV, which accounted for 546 vehicles.
In the last four months of the year, BYD consecutively broke new records for the highest number of vehicles sold in the country since launch.
Throughout 2025, BYD sold 23,306 vehicles in Germany, up 706.2% compared to the previous year, with a total of 2,891 units.
Other Markets
In the Nordic markets, which have among the highest EV adoption rates globally, BYD‘s January sales came in weaker than expected.
The company registered 50 vehicles in the Norwegian market last month, a 72% decline from the same period a year ago — when 178 units were sold.
In Sweden, sales also remained low, with 35 vehicles listed last month, just two units above December.
Contrary to its positive results in Central and Southern Europe — it was the best-selling new energy vehicle brand in Spain last month — the company has struggled to gain a foothold in Scandinavia.
Last week, BYD began trial production in Hungary, where its first passenger vehicle plant in Europe is located.
Local production will allow it to bypass the high tariffs imposed in late 2024 by the European Commission.
