Chinese biggest electric vehicle maker BYD has smashed yet another sales record in the UK. The brand sold over 11,271 cars in September, representing a substantial rise of 880% compared to the same month last year and saw it also overtake legacy brands such as Renault and SEAT.
In another mark of its success, the UK also became the company’s largest international market outside of China for the first time.
This brings BYD UK’s sales for the third quarter to over 16,000, compared to 10,000 in the second quarter of this year, with total 2025 sales to just over 35,000. Having achieved 2% new car market share in only two years, the company’s total market share in September grew even stronger to 3.6% and now sits at 2.2% year-to-date.
BYD’s hybrid SEAL U DM-i and electric SEALION 7 proved popular among U.K. consumers and dominated sales, the company said.
The SEAL U DM-i, which features BYD’s innovative dual-mode hybrid technology, remains the company’s best-selling model with 7,524 finding homes between July and September, followed by the all-electric SEALION 7 with 2,599 cars sold. The SEAL U DM-i continues to be the UK’s best-selling plug-in hybrid in 2025.
The U.K. enjoyed buoyant electric car sales in September following the reintroduction of an electric car grant in July, designed to make EVs cheaper for consumers, although it excluded Chinese EVs.
Battery electric vehicle sales were up 29.1% to 72,779 year-on-year, according to lobby group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
In Europe, BYD sales increased by over 200% year-on-year through August, allowing the company to surpass Tesla, which experienced a decline of more than 36%, according to data from the European lobby group ACEA.
Despite this strong regional performance, the company reported a nearly 6% drop in overall deliveries, marking its first year-on-year decline in 2025, although its domestic market share remains robust.
