The sales of BYD$1211 (+5.07%) in Germany and the UK - the two largest automotive markets in Europe - increased significantly in January.
In the German market, the Chinese giant's vehicle registrations rose by over 1,000%, while they doubled in the UK.
BYD entered both markets in early 2023, but sales figures only began to rise last year, when monthly registrations consistently exceeded 1,000 units.
According to the monthly registration figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), the BYD Seal U DM-i plug-in hybrid ranked sixth among the best-selling models of all drive types.
The model sold 2,550 units - that is 63.4% of all BYD sales in January.
The brand offers ten models in the UK: five battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and five plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).
The model range consists mainly of sport utility vehicles as well as the Seal saloon and the Dolphin and Dolphin Surf compact city cars.
While the SMMT does not provide a breakdown of figures by model or drive type, data from the EU EVs platform, which records electric vehicle registrations, shows that 1,285 of the total 4,021 units sold in January were all-electric.
This means that BEVs accounted for 32% of registrations and that while PHEVs made up the remaining 68%, PHEV models other than the Seal U only accounted for 4.6% of sales.
According to the platform, the Seal saloon was the best-selling EV in the range with 318 units registered in January.
Tesla $TSLA (+1.88%) saw both year-over-year and month-over-month sales decline, as 718 vehicles were sold last month - 51% fewer than a year ago.
The Geely $175 (+1.53%) backed Polestar, for which the UK is one of its largest markets, saw a 43% increase in sales compared to 2025 with 1,070 units registered in January.
》Figures for 2025《
BYD was the best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand in the country in 2025, with the exception of traditional carmakers and the originally British, now SAIC-backed MG brand.
Last year, sales increased almost fivefold to 51,422 units - a staggering increase on the 8,788 vehicles registered in the whole of 2024.
Sales in Germany
In Germany, the Shenzhen-based company registered 2,629 vehicles last month, according to data released by the KBA on Wednesday.
The figures represent an eleven-fold increase compared to the 235 units sold a year ago.
Compared to December, sales fell by around 37% from 4,109 units. The last month of 2025 recorded an increase of 1,172% compared to the previous year.
In contrast to the UK, where there is a balanced range of powertrains and hybrids lead the market, BYD's portfolio in Germany mainly comprises BEVs.
The company offers seven all-electric models, from the more affordable Dolphin Surf compact car to the premium Tang SUV, as well as three plug-in hybrids - including the recently launched Atto 2 model.
The German KBA does not break down monthly registrations by model, and figures for January were not yet available on EU EVs at the time of going to press.
German market
In January, total passenger car sales in Germany fell by 6.6% year-on-year to 193,981 units.
However, the share of electric vehicles increased compared to January 2025, as electric vehicles accounted for 42,692 of the cars sold last month - with a market share of 22%.
Other Chinese automakers increased their share of the German market last month compared to record deliveries in 2025, including XPeng $9868 (+2.79%) and the Stellantis $STLAM (+2.19%) backed company Leapmotor.