Chinese manufacturers are expanding in Europe’s plug‑in hybrid (PHEV) market at a rate well above the norm. According to “Handelsblatt”, which cites data from industry research firm Dataforce, Chinese PHEVs grew by 645 % in the region. The overall PHEV market in Europe rose 33 % during the same period.
The boom also has a trade‑policy element. Plug‑in hybrids imported from China have, unlike pure battery electric vehicles, so far not attracted the EU’s levies. This advantage is now evident in the market’s best‑seller lists.
In 2025, the BYD Seal U topped the European PHEV sales chart with roughly 72,800 new registrations, followed by the plug‑in version of the VW Tiguan with about 66,000 sales. The Dataforce figures are drawn from registration data covering all 27 EU member states plus the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.
