In St Albans, an affluent city packed with London workers and their SUVs, a dramatic transformation of car dealerships is underway. Over the past year, Chinese marques such as Jaecoo and BYD have started to appear in dealerships that once sold only their established rivals. Theo Theodorou, who runs the Chery operation at the Glyn Hopkins dealership, notes that Chinese cars "sell themselves." He questions why someone would buy a BMW or Audi for £60,000 when they could buy a similar Chinese car for £30,000.

According to Financial Times data, Chinese brands have reported a sharp rise in sales locations. Dealers selling Jaecoo and Omoda have grown from two in July 2024 to 140, while BYD had 49 dealers in October 2024 and now has 146. The Glyn Hopkins dealership in St Albans now sells BYD alongside Nissan, having dropped Renault vehicles.

As domestic mass-volume manufacturers have disappeared, the UK has been a relatively open market for new Chinese entrants. Chinese brands have collectively taken a 16 per cent share of the UK’s new car market this year, up from 7.8 per cent the year before and surpassing Japanese carmakers for the first time. Many newer Chinese cars from BYD and Jaecoo are plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles, helping accelerate the UK’s switch away from internal combustion engines. Their appeal to budget-conscious buyers is boosted by advanced software, cheap financing deals, and extended battery warranties.

Established brands including Nissan, Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen have all lost market share. Taz, 21, a salesman at the Omoda and Jaecoo dealership in St Albans, says the Jaecoo 7 SUV is the most popular car, suggesting Chinese vehicles "outperform other cars on both price and design." However, the rapid growth has spooked traditional dealers amid concerns that the price war in China could be exported to the UK, leading to job losses. Nissan has called for import tariffs on Chinese cars and watered-down electric vehicle targets to ensure long-term competitiveness.