Chinese automakers have seen a surge in the UK market, now accounting for more than one in ten of all new car enquiries, according to recent data from Autotrader.
JAECOO leads the pack with a 6.2% share of new car leads to retailers.
The marketplace noted that the presence of Chinese new entrants in the UK has grown rapidly since the start of the year.
Initially holding a 4.1% share of all leads to retailers, this figure has nearly tripled within eight months.
The top new entrants with the largest market share apart from JAECOO are Omoda at 2.2%, BYD at 1.9%, Leapmotor at 0.7%, and GWM at 0.2%.
In terms of year-to-date market share growth based on leads, JAECOO has seen a 2.4% increase, BYD 2%, Omoda 1.1%, Leapmotor 0.3%, and GWM 0.1%.
AutoTrader commercial director Ian Plummer said: “Changan’s launch marks a major moment for the UK EV market. As a state-owned manufacturer with deep pockets and the capacity to plan for the long term, Changan is not testing the waters: it is moving in with deep ambitions for a large dealership network at a price point ready to take on more established rivals like Tesla.
“Given the UK’s lower tariffs on imports compared to the European Union and particularly the US, we are now a key strategic market for Chinese manufacturers, and we expect their recent growth to continue.”
Last month, Autotrader highlighted the impact of the UK Government’s electric car grant on consumer interest in electric vehicles (EVs).
The introduction of this incentive has resulted in a noticeable increase in ad views for models that qualify for the grant.
For instance, the Vauxhall Mokka Electric experienced an 18% rise in ad views while Renault’s Scenic E-tech and Renault 4 saw increases of 47% and 21% respectively.
