China Doubles EV Sales in Two Years – Europe Can’t Keep Up

China's NEV market is not just expanding. It's accelerating at a pace that puts Europe and the U.S. on notice. With 12-month rolling volumes now more than double what they were two years ago, China continues to set the global tempo for electrification.

But momentum on paper doesn’t always translate into market share abroad. That’s the hard lesson BYD is learning in Europe. Despite its dominance at home, the brand is now rebooting its strategy — shifting from an EV-only play to a hybrid-inclusive approach, aggressively expanding its dealer network, and hiring local talent to avoid past missteps.

We’ll also take a closer look at week 16’s sales data: Nio breaks a new record, Leapmotor surpasses Tesla, and newcomers like Onvo struggle to hit their stride. And on the concept side, Chery’s QQ Qurio shows how playful design and urban lifestyle branding may offer a new path into European cities.

What’s clear: Chinese EV makers are no longer asking if they can win in Europe — they’re deciding how.

Let’s dig in.

Sebastian

Table of Contents

• China Doubles NEV Volumes in Two Years – Europe St …

• Week 16/2025 China EV Market: Nio Surges, Leapmoto …

• QQ Qurio Concept: Chery’s Playful Answer to the Sm …

• Why BYD Is Rethinking Europe

China Doubles NEV Volumes in Two Years – Europe Stagnates

China’s NEV market has continued its rapid expansion into 2025, despite seasonal slowdowns during the Lunar New Year. According to analyst Matthias Schmidt, 12-month rolling NEV passenger car registrations in China have doubled in just two years, climbing from 6.5 million in 2022 to 13.6 million today. Western Europe, by contrast, has remained static over the same period, highlighting a growing divide in EV market momentum.

In the first two months of 2025, China registered 1.8 million NEVs, with BEVs making up 61.1 percent of the total and PHEVs/ EREVs accounting for 38.9 percent. These figures, though seasonally skewed, underscore the sheer scale of China’s EV deployment.

Meanwhile, Western Europe recorded 460,000 NEV registrations in the same period (+18.2 percent YoY), representing 26.4 percent of all new car sales. The U.S. trailed far behind, with 228,000 plug-in vehicles and a market share stuck at 10 percent.

With this macro context in mind, we now turn to the week-by-week performance of China’s top NEV brands. Week 16 (April 14–20) brought further insights into the competitive dynamics at play, with key players like Nio, Leapmotor, and Tesla showing notable movement.

Week 16/2025 China EV Market: Nio Surges, Leapmotor Outsells Tesla and Xiaomi

In the third week of April, the Chinese NEV market showed notable momentum, with many brands reporting significant week-over-week (WoW) gains. Based on registration data compiled from insurance statistics, BYD once again led the field, recording 56,300 units—up 5.4 percent from the previous week. Despite a year-over-year (YoY) dip of 5.4 percent, BYD’s cumulative April total stands at 154,800 units, maintaining its dominant position in the segment.

Nio was the standout performer, surging 54.3 percent WoW to 5,400 units, marking its best weekly performance in 2025. The boost comes on the heels of newly introduced purchase incentives, including a five-year battery swap offer, aimed at clearing inventory ahead of multiple model refreshes. With 10,700 units registered in the first three weeks of April, the brand shows strong momentum.

Meanwhile, Leapmotor outpaced Xiaomi and Tesla with 8,600 registrations, a sharp 34.4 percent increase from the previous week. It has now recorded 20,400 units in April and continues to benefit from its partnership with Stellantis. Xiaomi followed with 7,200 units (+14.3 percent), and Tesla registered 6,800 units (+25.9 percent).

Xpeng, however, saw a minor decline of 1.5 percent, falling to 6,600 units. Despite this, its YoY growth remains robust at 164 percent, driven largely by the success of the Mona M03 sedan, which recently hit 100,000 cumulative units just over seven months after launch.

On the newcomer front, Onvo grew modestly to 775 units, but remains far below its early targets. Internal restructuring followed the shortfall, with Shen Fei replacing Alan Ai as CEO. Li Auto registered 8,800 units, up 22.2 percent, and remains under scrutiny following the poor performance of its Li Mega. The company still aims for 700,000 units in 2025, up from just over 500,000 in 2024.

Overview Week 16/2025

• BYD – 56,300

• Li Auto – 8,800

• Leapmotor – 8,600

• Xiaomi Auto – 7,200

• Tesla – 6,800

• Xpeng – 6,600

• Nio – 5,400

• Deepal – 4,500

• Aito – 4,400

• Denza – 3,300

• Zeekr – 2,700

• Avatr – 1,400

• Onvo – 775

_{The data—collected via insurance registrations rather than OEM-reported figures—offers valuable insight into actual consumer delivery trends, increasingly critical amid regulatory pressures and evolving sales strategies.}

QQ Qurio Concept: Chery’s Playful Answer to the Smart #3?

Chery spins off its legendary QQ nameplate into a brand of its own – and the QQ Qurio Concept is the first sign of what’s to come. Positioned as a direct competitor to the Smart #3, this concept takes a different route: not sporty minimalism, but expressive playfulness.

The Qurio’s design feels like a crossover between digital art and urban practicality. Its rounded shapes, color highlights in neon yellow and violet, and fabric-heavy interior suggest a lifestyle-focused EV with personality. The cabin feels more like a lounge than a cockpit – bright, social, and screen-centric.

By contrast, the Smart #3 leans toward a sleeker, more premium profile with coupe-like proportions and a sportier stance. The Qurio aims to be more approachable: its taller build and friendly styling could offer more space and comfort, especially for city dwellers who value charm over sharpness.

Details on drivetrain and range are still under wraps. But if Chery brings the Qurio to production, it may become a fresh-faced, tech-friendly challenger in the compact EV game – especially in Europe, where distinctive character is increasingly part of the value equation.

Why BYD Is Rethinking Europe

While Chery grabs headlines with playful urban concepts like the QQ Qurio, the industry heavyweight BYD is in the midst of a very different transformation — one born not from design labs, but from hard lessons in Europe.

After a meteoric rise in China, where sales soared from under 600,000 units in 2020 to 4.2 million in 2024, BYD set its sights on Europe with bold ambitions. But reality hit hard. Despite becoming the world’s top EV seller by overtaking Tesla last year, BYD ended 2024 with just 2.8 percent market share in Europe — far below internal targets.

Now, the Chinese EV leader is rebooting its entire European strategy. Insiders describe a steep learning curve marked by three key missteps:

1. Undersized dealer networks, too focused on large cities.

2. Lack of local expertise, especially at executive level.

3. A rigid, EV-only approach in markets still hesitant about full electrification.

To address these issues, BYD brought in Alfredo Altavilla, a seasoned former Fiat-Chrysler executive, as special adviser. His recommendation was clear: Europe needs plug-in hybrids. BYD responded swiftly, instructing its engineers to ensure every new model would be offered both as a BEV and PHEV.

This shift marks a critical departure from the brand’s China-first mindset and is paired with aggressive talent acquisition — poaching top managers from Stellantis with both high salaries and growth opportunities. Among them:

• Maria Grazia Davino, now leading Germany and Central Europe.

• Alessandro Grosso in Italy.

• Alberto De Aza in Spain.

The strategic overhaul is already yielding results. In Q1 2025, BYD’s European sales — including the UK — more than tripled YoY to over 37,000 units, up from just 8,500.

Still, the road ahead is long. In Germany, BYD sold under 2,900 vehicles in 2024. To change that, it now plans to expand its network to 120 dealers from the current 27. Yet market insiders stress that success will require more than numbers — it will demand cultural fluency and market-specific thinking, two things BYD historically underestimated.

As Tim Albertsen, CEO of leasing giant Ayvens, puts it:

BYD’s renewed European push comes just as domestic competition in China intensifies and price wars compress margins. With European production set to begin later this year in Hungary, and new models like the Denza Z, Sealion 06, and the ultra-premium Yangwang U8L now on display in Shanghai, BYD is betting big on diversity — in both product and market strategy.

Whether this reset will be enough to position BYD as a dominant player in Europe remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the company is moving from ambition to adaptation — and learning, perhaps for the first time, that Europe doesn’t follow a single rulebook.

Thanks for reading and being part of this journey. If the content resonated with you, I’d be genuinely grateful if you passed it along to colleagues, friends, or anyone who shares an interest in the future of mobility.

_{Sources: Matthias Schmidt - European Electric Car Study 02/2024 // X (Twitter) - QQ Qurio Concept // Reuters - Exclusive: China EV giant BYD reboots Europe operations after strategic stumbles, sources say}