China breaks records with 1m monthly car exports as UK drivers embrace BYD, Jaecoo and more

China exported more than one million vehicles in the span of just one month for the first time as drivers warm to affordable and technologically advanced vehicles.

Monthly car exports from China exceeded one million for the first time in June as overseas shipments jumped by a staggering 27 per cent.

Chinese brands have quickly become some of the best-selling manufacturers across Europe and the UK, despite only launching around the world in the last few years.

Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) shows that between January and May, Chinese brands have sold hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

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Geely Group, which includes Geely, LEVC, Lotus, Lynk & Co, Polestar, Volvo and Zeekr, has captured three per cent of the market with 176,676 sales.

Similarly, SAIC Motor (2.4 per cent market share), BYD (2.3 per cent), Chery (2.1 per cent) and Leapmotor (0.7 per cent) have all made strong inroads.

The sales totals for nations from the European Union, European Free Trade Agreement and the UK show that they are quickly overtaking established brands.

Geely, SAIC and BYD have all outsold Nissan, Tesla, Jaguar Land Rover and Honda between January and the end of May.

Research from Transport and Environment found that the European Union's electric vehicle tariffs have not had a negative impact on the rise of Chinese EVs.

Data also shows that two in five UK motorists would consider a Chinese car for their next vehicle - doubling the number of drivers who said the same earlier this year.

Only 26 per cent said they would not buy a vehicle from a Chinese manufacturer as drivers gain confidence in the affordable vehicles.

John Cassidy, managing director of Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: "Chinese vehicle manufacturers are becoming an increasingly important part of the UK automotive market, particularly as demand for electric vehicles continues to grow.

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"Our research suggests motorists are becoming more comfortable with the idea of buying a Chinese-made car, driven in part by the affordability and accessibility of many of the electric models now available."

Chinese manufacturers have made an impressive splash in the UK market in a relatively short amount of time.

The Jaecoo 7 is the third best-selling car in the UK with 23,840 sales so far this year, beating out the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Golf.

Chinese brands are also seeing a huge jump in year-on-year sales, namely BYD (95 per cent), Jaecoo (305 per cent), Leapmotor (1,149 per cent), Omoda (175 per cent) and Xpeng (364 per cent).

It also comes as legacy manufacturers face strong competition from China, forcing them to enact cost-cutting measures or drastically change policy.

Volkswagen has announced plans to slash up to 100,000 jobs from its workforce, while also cutting production timetables and its vehicle lineup.

CEO Oliver Blume said the brand was undergoing its "most comprehensive realignment in the company's history".

Other manufacturers are struggling to embrace the switch to electric vehicles, something which Chinese brands have excelled at.

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