French auto consultancy Inovev said about 155,000 Chinese-made cars were sold in Europe in the first nine months of 2022, or 1.4 percent of the market.
Chinese companies are on track to hit 150,000 cars this year, nearly double the 80,000 sold in 2021.
But almost half the Chinese cars sold were EVs, according to Inovev, giving them a 5.8 percent share of Europe’s full-electric vehicle market.
Inovev vice-president Jamel Taganza said all Chinese cars sold in Europe would be EVs within a few years, with more lower-cost models on the way.
By 2030, Inovev estimates EVs will make up 40 percent of Europe’s new car sales and that Chinese brands will represent between 12.5 percent to 20 percent of that full-electric market, with sales of between 725,000 and 1.16 million vehicles.
“This is a conservative forecast,” Taganza said. “But it could increase more rapidly, especially if European carmakers do not answer the needs in Europe of affordable EVs.”
Getting a five-star rating is expensive for automakers because it means investing in additional safety features from extra airbags to collision avoidance, driver-assistance and driver-monitoring systems.
Thatcham’s Avery said Chinese EV makers have actively engaged with Euro NCAP and were eagerly making the investments necessary to land top ratings.
“Forget what you might think that Chinese means lower quality or lower safety performance,” he said. “Their quality is now better than others.”
BYD is launching three cars in a handful of European markets and will add more models and markets next year, all of which should have top safety ratings, said Michael Shu, managing director of BYD Europe.
“We think a five-star rating should be a very basic requirement,” he said.