BYD now Western Europe's largest Chinese brand on a quarterly basis, thanks to PHEV push
- Matthias Schmidt
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
BYD EUROPE has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing Tesla and Chinese competitor SAIC's MG for the first time over a quarterly period in Western Europe during Q2 2026, as reported by Schmidt Automotive Research.
To navigate the EU's anti-subsidy tariffs, which impose a 17% levy on its BEVs from China since November 2024, in addition to a 10% import tariff, BYD has increasingly relied on PHEVs.
Since early 2025, PHEVs, which are exempt from the anti-subsidy tariff, have consistently outnumbered BYD's BEV models.
This strategy, coupled with competitive pricing, has resulted in market share gains, and is fast approaching 3% on a quarterly basis.
Looking ahead, the EU is anticipated to investigate the expansion of these tariffs to include PHEVs, potentially implementing changes in the first half of 2027.
In the meantime, front-loading of the drivetrain is expected to persist in the latter half of the year.
Currently, three out of four of BYD's regional volumes are concentrated in just four markets.
Germany is projected to play a more significant role in the second half of the year, as the German government has approved the inclusion of Chinese-made models in its current purchase subsidy program, which also covers PHEVs.
This decision effectively mitigates the impact of the anti-subsidy tariffs on BEVs, with German taxpayers partially subsidising this market access in a somewhat naive piece of policy as German industry aims to maintain market access to China.
* Chinese OEMs doesn't include Volvo Cars which we still classify as European.
This includes extracts from one of our full studies which are available below. To discover more about out studies just contact us
Scope: Western Europe's 18 Markets: EU Member States prior to the 2004 enlargement, plus EFTA markets Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, plus UK – accounting for 90% of the enlarged European region.
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