Panic in UK as China on track for ‘full-scale | Tech News

Chinese car gross sales in the UK doubled final yr in a main blow to Britain’s automotive industry. Almost 200,000 Chinese-branded vehicles entered UK roads in 2025, representing nearly one in ten of the autos offered and registered in the UK. It marked a staggering increase from the 98,000 offered in 2024, in response to registration knowledge shared with the Daily Mail.

The precise quantity of Chinese-made autos hitting UK roads was a lot larger if you issue in the 1000’s of vehicles manufactured in China by corporations like Tesla and BMW for decrease prices. This will increase the determine to round one in seven of all vehicles offered final yr, equal to about 270,000 autos, in response to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

This might be devastating for British producers, who’ve already misplaced iconic marques to international manufacturers. MG was offered to the Chinese company SAIC in 2007, and in 2017, 51% of the British-founded Lotus was offered to a different Chinese model, Geely. 

Lotus nonetheless has a manufacturing manufacturing facility in the UK, however whereas MG vehicles are designed and engineered in the UK, most fashions at the moment are manufactured in China.

When its Longbridge manufacturing facility was closed in 2005, Tony Woodley from the Transport and General Workers Union described it as the “darkest day in the history of the British car industry”, with 6,000 dropping their jobs.

Brits nonetheless clearly have an attachment to MG, as it was the most well-liked Chinese-manufactured model offered in the UK final yr. The MG HS was the best-selling Chinese car, with 30,191 registrations in 2025.

Matthias Schmidt, an analyst monitoring electric vehicles throughout Europe, warned in regards to the loss of British manufacturers, telling The Guardian: “With no real home quantity manufacturers for UK customers to select from, UK customers crucially can no longer take part in what is thought as patriotic buying.”

China seems to be dominating one market in particular: electric cars. In 2025, around one in eight new electric vehicles (EVs) were from a Chinese brand, up from one in 12 the year prior, according to the SMMT.

BYD, which launched in 2023, sold 51,422 vehicles in the UK last year, primarily EVs, more than five times the 8,800 sold the previous year. 

Another Chinese brand, Jaecoo, achieved higher sales figures than classic legacy brands such as Jeep, Seat and Citroen last year. It accounted for 1.4% of sales in the UK, compared to just 0.5% for Jeep. Omoda’s 19,855 sales also surpassed the likes of Porsche, Suzuki and Lexus.

Britain also lost its iconic Mini and Rolls-Royce brands to German-owned BMW in 2000 and 2002, while Jaguar and Land Rover had been bought by Indian model Tata in 2008. All nonetheless have factories in the UK.