This is one of the most controversial debates regarding the European automobile market: the arrival of Chinese manufacturers. They were afraid for a long time to develop reliable models. And above all, a little interesting for European customers. No more copiestasteless models of the beginning, the only argument of which was the price. The maturity of the Chinese car market has made it possible to produce national champions in recent years. With models that are finally exportable.

Times have changed a lot since then. the first Landwind X6 imported to Europe in 2005. Today, more than ten Chinese brands have invested in the Old Continent. If all these are only imported models, then factory construction projects regularly hit the headlines. Who are they and how did they perform in 2022 in Europe and France?

Chinese groups that are gaining momentum

Several major Chinese automotive groups compete for this coveted European market. The SAIC state group is represented there with its brands MG and Maxus in particular (soon in France). Geelyone of the most European, has several western brands, starting with Volvo, Lotus and Smart. However, we do not consider these three brands to be Chinese because they have their own models that are not just copies of Chinese models.

On the other hand, Geely boasts several brands that are performing well: Polestar, Lynk&Co, and soon Zeekr. Two other large groups are called BYD and Chery, who arrive in Europe with their models. Chery, however, has a presence in Italy, where it has been distributing its models for several years Italian brand DR. In addition, there are many independent Chinese manufacturers, some of which are better positioned than others. Aiways, DFSK, Seres, Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto…

France is in fifth place

In 2022, all these Chinese brands sold 202,000 cars and light commercial vehicles in Europe. Against 82,500 in 2021! True, they only account for 2% of the market share, but their growing development and the emergence of more and more brands will drive these numbers in the coming years. France was sixth overall with 15,985 Chinese models registered throughout the year. Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden are behind. Details of the top performing brands for France are not known, but let’s take a look at the European Union brands.

The big winner is MG, which won 55% of Chinese sales in Europe! The success became possible thanks to the great popularity of the brand in the former national territory, in Great Britain. We then found Polestar with 16% (not sold in France due to dispute with Citroën). Then Lynk&Co (13%), and DR in Italy, which we told you about (10%). Other brands account for only 6% of total registrations in China. Thus, there are already many Chinese players in Europe, and judging by these numbers, their success has only just begun.