The main topic is how Chinese OEMs recorded a record 6.1% share of the regional new car market last year, which rose to 8.1% during the final quarter however, and is more reflective of the study’s 2026 forecast which sees a penetratin mix of 8.1% or just below one milion units (0.98 million) and cauing more headaches for underutilised European production sites with some barely operating at higher levels than seen during the Covid years. Meanwhile, if Western OEM models imported from China are included, every tenth new model registered across Western Europe is now shipped from China, or the equivalent of almost one million units in 2025.

But where are those market-share gains coming from in a constrained market? Since pre-Covid 2019, Europeans have seen their market share fall by 4.4ppts, while the Chinese have gained 6.2ppts since 2019.