BYD is attracting much of the attention coming out of Europe these days. The growth numbers are difficult to ignore. Yet another Chinese automotive group continues building its position in a quieter way.
Geely Group is still the largest Chinese automotive group in Europe by sales volume.
Between January and May 2026, the company recorded 176,676 deliveries across the European Union, the United Kingdom, and EFTA markets. The increase over the same period last year reached 6.5 percent. No dramatic leap. No triple-digit surge. Even so, the result kept Geely ahead of every Chinese rival operating in the region.
Those numbers arrived during a period of change for the European market.
For years, petrol-powered vehicles comfortably occupied territory above battery-electric models. The gap has been shrinking for a while. In May, across the combined EU, UK, and EFTA region, the order finally shifted. Battery-electric vehicles accounted for 23.3 percent of registrations, while petrol-powered cars finished at 21.7 percent.
The difference was not huge. The symbolism was.Inside the European Union, the battle remained tighter. Battery-electric vehicles captured 21.3 percent of registrations during May. Petrol vehicles held 22 percent. Hybrids continued leading the market and maintained a 37.8 percent share during the first five months of the year.
The overall market still moved upward. More than 1.15 million vehicles were registered across the EU, UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland during May. Within the EU alone, registrations reached 955,013 units.
Some countries accelerated the transition faster than others.
Italy posted a 75.7 percent increase in battery-electric registrations. France followed with a 55.4 percent rise. Germany added another 40.9 percent. Together, those markets helped push battery-electric vehicles to 950,521 registrations across the EU during the first five months of 2026.
Not every powertrain enjoyed similar momentum.
Petrol registrations across the EU declined 18.2 percent year-to-date. Diesel continued sliding as well, falling 16.6 percent and ending with a market share of only 7.6 percent. France experienced the sharpest petrol decline among major markets at 36.8 percent. Spain dropped 20.3 percent. Germany fell 18.5 percent.
Chinese manufacturers benefited from the changing environment.
Their combined sales reached 121,030 vehicles during May, nearly double the volume achieved a year earlier. Market share climbed to 10.7 percent for the first time.
Geely remained the volume leader among Chinese automotive groups. SAIC delivered 141,490 vehicles during the January-to-May period and increased sales by 11.6 percent. BYD surged 145.2 percent to 135,307 units and moved ahead of SAIC during May itself.
Meanwhile, Chery, Jaecoo, Jetour, and Omoda collectively reached 122,843 sales. Leapmotor expanded to 43,037 vehicles after a 552.9 percent increase. Xpeng added another 138 percent gain.