Record growth of Chinese cars in Italy: 6% market share with Byd and MG soaring
The share rises to 9% when considering assemblers such as DR, importers and the Volvo galaxy under Geely
A year lived 'on the run', with numbers growing strongly from month to month and market shares multiplying. This was the case for new players like Byd and for those who, like MG, were among the first to start penetrating the domestic market. With an overall market share, from January to November, reaching 9%, adding up Chinese manufacturers (6%), companies that assemble in Italy such as Dr (2%) and the Volvo galaxy, controlled by Geely.
Byd has seen its volumes in Italy multiply by 10 from one year to the next, rising from just over 2,000 registrations from January to November 2024 to over 20,000 this year, with a market share close to 1.5% since the start of the year, almost doubling to 3% in November. MG, a brand owned by the Chinese Saic Motor, has in fact opened the season of penetration of Chinese manufacturers on the Italian and European markets, also through the sale of traditional engines, progressively flanked by electrified models.
It has seen its volumes double in two years and has been close to a 3.3% market share since January.
Adding up the registrations under Chinese manufacturers on the Italian market, we arrive at 6% in the 11 months of the year, without taking into account realities such as Dr, EMC, which assemble or distribute cars produced in China (about 2% of the market), DFSK, a Chinese brand distributed and imported in Italy by China Car Company, and the Volvo universe, controlled by Geely (one point of market share).
In the ranking of the best-selling cars in Italy, Byd's Dolphin Surg climbed to eleventh place (in November), while MG's ZS entered the top ten registered cars in the January-December period. And if we look at the ranking of the most purchased full-electric models in Italy, in November two Chinese manufacturers, Byd with the Dolphin Surf and Leapmotor (owned by Stellantis) with the T03, climbed to the top of the list, while in the first 11 months of the year the ranking was still dominated by two Tesla models.
