(Le Figaro, Valérie Collet, April 29, 2026)
About ten new Chinese brands including Xpeng, Lynk&Co, Leapmotor, Omoda & Jaecoo, Denza, Zeekr and now also Geely are invading the European market with a “matryoshka doll” strategy, that is multiple brands for different segments, focusing on aggressive prices, long warranties and advanced technology to win customers looking for comfort, infotainment and battery range.
Sales of Chinese brands in Europe are still modest compared to giants like Volkswagen and Stellantis, but are growing rapidly: from a 6% share in 2025 they could reach 14% by 2030 according to Roland Berger estimates, driven by the need to break out of the saturated China market and the internal price war, with Europe as the main open and rapidly electrifying market.
Chinese manufacturers are investing heavily in marketing, distribution and, in some cases, local production (like Leapmotor in Zaragoza with Stellantis), adapting models to European specificities and learning from BYD’s initial mistakes, while prices up to 30% lower than traditional competitors represent the main weapon to gain market share.
New invasion of Chinese brands
“After BYD and MG, Xpeng, Lynk&co, Leapmotor, Omoda & Jaecoo, Denza, Zeekr… Geely is added to the list. Others like Xiaomi and Chery are preparing. The “matryoshka doll” marketing of Chinese groups contributes to this boom.”
Expected market share growth
“In 2025 Chinese brands represented a 6% share in Europe […] But according to our estimates they could reach 14% of the European market and 20% in the United Kingdom by 2030.”
Aggressive prices as the main weapon
“Price gaps between plug-in hybrid models in the same category between BYD and Skoda can reach 30%. Chinese manufacturers are ready not to make much money and to invest in the future.”
Geely’s ambitious goals
“Geely hopes to reach 6.5 million vehicles sold worldwide in 2030 while it recorded only 4.12 million in 2025 […] Jenny Jin, the group’s operations director in France, does not hide that she counts on key markets in Europe such as France to achieve this goal.”
Lesson learned from BYD
“We had believed that Europe was a single market but we understood that in reality there are rather thirty or even forty on this continent, each with its own specificities, its own expectations. We have learned a lot.”
(Excerpt from the newsletter by Giuseppe Liturri)
