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German BYD volumes may have been window-dressed in Europe's largest market

  • Writer: Matthias Schmidt
    Matthias Schmidt
  • Apr 2
  • 2 min read

Updated: Apr 3

Close-up of a shiny red car's rear with "BUILD YOUR DREAMS" text. Indoor setting with blurred crowd in the background.

Despite clearly dominating Chinese OEM BEV volumes across Western Europe, accounting for every third Chinese brand BEV entering the region during 2026, German data suggests that many of those models aren't finding genuine private buyers, while an increasing number are being exported or deregistered, suggesting volumes may have been window-dressed in Europe's largest new-car market. 


Despite January seeing an increase in BYD private consumer uptake across Germany to 21.8%, although remaining below the average of 30.2%, an underlying trend of a high number of deregistrations of vehicles remains concerning according to our latest research.  


Latest German KBA data show that just 18,536 of the 30,472 BYD models registered across the country since it entered the market three years ago remain on German roads, meaning four in ten have either been exported to other markets like Denmark or deregistered once again and are sitting in German inventory pounds waiting to be reregistered as used vehicles. 


Nonetheless, BYD, which begins European production later this quarter, offering them the breathing room to mitigate EU anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese-made BEV models since November 2024, continues to dominate the region's Chinese BEV new volumes, despite SAIC's MG brand remaining the largest volume Chinese brand across all drivetrains according to our monthly collated data. 


BYD was also the only Chinese OEM to record a top-20 BEV model during the opening month of the year, with the Dolphin Surf recording the twentieth most registered BEV model across the region in January with 2,805 new units. 


Germany and Italy accounted for 60% of those volumes however, with the question remaining, how many of those German deliveries were genuine?" Leave a comment below. Continues in the full study.  

Full details, data, forecasts, trends and background information can be found in our industry-leading studies, providing key context and trusted by stakeholders breaching industry divides. 


Source: Schmidt Automotive Research 






*Western Europe 18 Markets: EU Member States prior to the 2004 enlargement plus EFTA markets Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, plus UK

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