China’s EV Moves in UK & EU Progressing – CleanTechnica

Last Updated on: 10th June 2025, 01:54 am

It’s no secret — China’s electric vehicle market is the most developed in the world. Related to that, EVs account for about half of the country’s new car sales, and it’s a hyper-competitive market where many automakers are struggling to scale up, outcompete each other on price, and eventually make a profit. That’s a recipe for trouble. One solution to try to help them achieve all of those goals is to exports more EVs to other markets. The second best and second biggest EV market in the world is the European market. So, unsurprisingly, numerous Chinese automakers are trying to open up pathways to EV sales growth in Europe. We’ve got three updates today on this broad topic, so I’m putting them all together in this one post.

EU Tariffs — It Gets Better?

As reported extensively last year, the EU has put high tariffs on electric vehicles produced in China. EVs are produced more cheaply in China than anywhere else, and the EU contends that they are too heavily subsidized by governments there and putting bigger tariffs on them is the way to balance things out and have a free market again. Chinese EV producers have contended that these tariffs go overboard, are unfair, and are even based on nothing legitimate. When will the controversy end?

Well, there may be some progress on the horizon. “China’s commerce ministry said talks with the European Union on setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric vehicles have ‘entered final stages,’ although more work is required to reach a deal,” Autonews reports.

Chinese EV Success in UK Already

Max Holland does a tremendous job creating monthly UK EV sales reports for CleanTechnica. So much information is packed into those, the market is a hot one, and there’s no paywall on our reports! However, despite enjoying those monthly reports, I was surprised and taken aback to see a headline today saying that “Chinese automakers near 10% UK share after fivefold BYD surge.” Chinese automakers are already near 10% of the market in the UK?! Wow.

Naturally, it comes as no surprise that BYD is leading the charge (no pun intended), since it is the world leader in EV sales and keeps opening up new markets to EVs or quickly transforming them upon entry. The company is already up to 10th in EV market share.

I’m curious how the market responds to the growing presence of EVs, and how quickly this market can blossom. We’ll see.

The Small EV Market in Europe

Many CleanTechnica readers have lamented automakers prioritizing large and luxury-class models when developing and producing EVs. From an automaker perspective, it sounds sensible — sell high-cost vehicles and more quickly recoup your investment. However, it definitely limits the sales and growth of the EV market, especially in a place like Europe.

Well, reportedly, the pressure has gotten to European automakers, and they are developing their on smaller EVs much more so in response BYD and other Chinese automakers.

Some of the world’s biggest carmakers are squaring off for a titanic battle over small cars in Europe, as native stalwarts like Volkswagen and Renault fight to maintain their hold on the market against an influx of cheap electric vehicles (EVs) from BYD and its Chinese peers.

Last month, BYD, which surpassed Tesla last year as the world’s largest EV maker, launched its Dolphin Surf compact hatchback in Europe. The company’s most affordable model, known in China as the Seagull, is priced from €22,990 (US$26,128) with a 322km range to €24,990 with a 507km range. A promotion this month lowers the starting price to €19,990. That should catch eyeballs, and euros! We’ll see where things go.