Big shift in the UK car market! July top ten bestsellers: China secures three spots

According to the latest data released by the UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK new car registrations reached 156,571 units in July, up 11.7% year-on-year, the best performance since 2019 and the eighth consecutive month of market growth.

Electric vehicles were the main growth driver. Plug-in hybrid vehicle sales grew 33.6%, with market share reaching 14.9%; hybrid vehicle sales increased 11.6%, accounting for 13.2%; and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales surged 44.5% year-on-year, with market share hitting a record 27.5%.

Among the top ten best-selling models, three came from Chinese automakers: Chery's JAECOO 7 (2,709 units), JAECOO 5 (2,481 units), and SAIC's MG HS (2,703 units). The three models combined for 7,893 units, accounting for more than 5% of the overall market share.

JAECOO is Chery's overseas brand, launched in the UK market in 2025 and known as the “budget Range Rover”, priced at around £30,000.

In March 2026, the JAECOO 7 clinched its first UK monthly sales crown with 10,064 units sold, and cumulative sales reached 41,952 units by March. In the first half of 2026, it sold 23,840 units to become the third best-selling model, surpassing long-established traditional brands such as Honda and Citroën.

The MG HS has long been a strong seller in the UK market, having made the best-seller charts numerous times.

Chinese automakers continue to expand their share of the European market. In May 2026, five Chinese automakers (BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery, and Leapmotor) sold a total of 138,410 vehicles across 31 European countries, up 65% year-on-year, surpassing Japanese brands for the first time.

Japanese brands sold 130,400 vehicles in May, down 3% year-on-year. In June, Chinese automakers extended their lead, with the gap widening from around 8,000 vehicles to approximately 13,000.

In the first half of 2026, Chinese new energy vehicle sales in the UK reached 183,000 units, up more than 110% year-on-year, with market share rising to 16.1%. The MG brand sold more than 190,000 units in Europe in the first half of the year, up more than 20% year-on-year.

BYD's cumulative overseas passenger vehicle sales from January to June 2026 reached 789,367 units, up 70% year-on-year. Chairman Wang Chuanfu expects total overseas sales to exceed 1.6 million units in 2026, more than 1.5 times the 1.04 million units sold in 2025.

SMMT Chief Executive Mike·Hawes said July's record electric vehicle sales were a remarkable achievement, but if automakers continue to prop up the market through large-scale discounts to avoid stricter penalties, thereby distorting market demand, such progress will be difficult to sustain.

He warned that underlying demand in the UK auto market has not kept pace, and sustainable transformation cannot be achieved through mandatory supply alone. Urgent reform of the regulatory system is required, otherwise the UK risks undermining its own competitiveness and jeopardizing jobs and livelihoods.