BYD enjoys growth amid declining new-car sales in the EU

25 February 2026

As BYD began 2026 with soaring sales in the EU’s new-car market, other carmakers faced mixed fortunes. This came as the region saw declining registration results. Tom Hooker, Autovista24 journalist, takes a look at January’s winners and losers.

As new-car sales dropped in the EU during January, the picture for carmakers proved more nuanced. As some established brands recorded losses, other newer entrants enjoyed success, shaking up the established order.

BYD certainly bucked the overall trend. The Chinese marque saw deliveries surge by 175.3% year on year to 13,982 units, according to ACEA. This gave the carmaker a 1.7% share of the EU new-car market, up by 1.1 percentage points (pp) compared to January 2025.

The brand is looking to double its points of sale in Europe to 2,000 this year, according to Reuters. BYD is targeting 350 distribution partners in Germany by the end of 2026, Handelsblatt wrote.

BYD also recorded higher volumes than the likes of Mini, Mazda, Honda, Lancia and Alpine. While claiming smaller market shares than BYD, these brands all enjoyed growth in January as well. However, none of them recorded triple-digit growth.

Mercedes-Benz also recorded improvements. It managed a 4% boost to 36,074 units. Its hold of the new-car market grew by 0.3 percentage points (pp) to 4.5%.

Strong start for Stellantis brands

As a group, Stellantis posted year-on-year growth, recording 145,750 sales last month. This ensured a 9.1% increase on 12 months prior, while its market share rose from 16.1% to 18.2%. The carmaker recently announced that it is reintroducing diesel versions of some of its models in Europe, Reuters reported.

Fiat, including the Abarth brand, recorded the group’s highest growth rate. The Italian marque witnessed a 31.3% uptick in volumes to 28,992 units. Combined Opel and Vauxhall figures grew by 17% year on year to 24,575 units. Citroen and Peugeot recorded rises of 9.6% and 0.5% respectively.

The combined deliveries of Lancia and Chrysler saw a significant rise compared to January 2025. However, the 21.9% surge was based on a much smaller total of 1,282 units. Alfa Romeo and DS weighed on the overall group’s performance. Both brands suffered a 13.8% decline in January.

Brands struggling in the EU

On the other side of the coin, Renault Group endured a sales fall of 16.7% to 75,243 units. The carmaker accounted for 9.4% of overall volumes, down 1.5pp year on year.

This was mostly due to a decline in Dacia deliveries, with the carmaker’s 29,165-unit total down 36.7% year-on-year. The marque trailed the Renault brand by 16,319 sales. This compares to a 2,309-unit lead over the OEM’s namesake brand at the same point last year.

Conversely, the Renault brand posted a 3.9% improvement to 45,484 sales. Renault Group’s figure was further boosted by a 34.4% surge in deliveries of Alpine models. However, this was based on a smaller volume of 594 units.

Kia and Hyundai contributed relatively evenly to their group’s result in January, shifting 28,393 units and 26,562 units, respectively. However, their performance compared to 12 months ago was vastly different. While Kia’s total equated to a 5.9% fall, sales of Hyundai models plummeted by 22.4%.

Japanese carmakers fall behind

Toyota and Lexus were also unable to escape declines last month. Their wider manufacturing group posted a 14.3% slump, with 61,572 deliveries. The OEM represented 7.7% of overall volumes, down 0.9pp year on year.

Suzuki faced a 14.6% delivery drop to 10,876 units, as its share slipped from 1.5% to 1.4%. Nissan suffered a 16.2% drop to 14,399 units, as its share fell by 0.3pp to 1.8%.

Meanwhile, Volvo Cars suffered a 13.6% drop to 15,877 units. Yet its market share fell by only 0.2pp to 2%. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) felt a 12.5% decline in January. However, its total was based on lower volumes relative to other OEMs. Its hold on the new-car market went from 0.6% to 0.5%.

Deliveries of Land Rover models decreased by 9.1% year-on-year, but the group’s poor performance was mostly due to Jaguar. According to ACEA, the brand recorded no sales in January. The marque’s first model since its polarising rebrand in 2024 is expected to be revealed this year, ABC News reported.

VW’s stagnant EU sales

VW Group faced a 3.7% sales decline in January to 219,708 units. Despite this, the OEM continued to lead Europe’s new-car market, with a 27.5% share, up 0.1pp year on year.

The drop was softened by Skoda’s 10.7% uptick to 57,619 deliveries during the month. However, this was not enough to make up for significant losses endured by the VW brand and Cupra. The group’s namesake saw sales fall by 10.6% to 85,841 units, while Cupra endured an 11.6% slump to 15,746 sales.

The latter’s Tavascan model has been exempted from EU import duties, in line with an accepted minimum import price. It was the first car to be approved following the publication of the European Commission’s guidelines.

Audi and SEAT did not help matters, with 1.9% and 1.5% declines, respectively. However, it was Porsche that felt the biggest drop in the VW Group. The premium carmaker recorded a 14.6% slide on a relatively lower total of 5,285 deliveries.

BMW Group saw sales slip by 3.3% last month. Its 53,456-unit total translates to a 6.7% market share. The group’s namesake brand alone suffered a 6.4% fall to 45,031 deliveries. Meanwhile, Mini enjoyed a 17.4% surge in volumes, albeit on a smaller 8,425-unit total.

Tesla saw a minimal drop in January. The electric-only brand posted a 1.6% decline to 7,187 deliveries, as its 0.9% share remained stable from January 2025. Additionally, SAIC Motor had an even smaller drop of 0.8%, with 13,790 units and a 1.7% share.