- BYD’s sales in the UK have surged since it launched in March 2023.
- The company has started rolling out its Flash Charging tech nationwide.
- By the end of this year, BYD will have 300 Flash Charging stations in the UK.
After launching its first electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars in the UK just three years ago, Chinese carmaking giant BYD has delivered its 100,000th vehicle locally, capturing a 5 percent share of the total new car market. A climb that steep explains a lot about why the US is working so hard to keep Chinese brands out.
The Atto 3 was the first BYD to reach the UK, arriving in March 2023. The range has ballooned since then to six EVs and six plug-in hybrids. The electric side covers the small Dolphin Surf and the larger Dolphin, plus the Atto 2, Atto 3 Evo, Seal, and the very good Sealion 7.
Read: Britain’s Biggest EV Brand Isn’t Tesla, BMW Or Volkswagen
Those not yet willing to go all-in on an EV can choose among PHEV models like the all-new Dolphin G DM-i, Atto 2 DM-i, Seal 6 DM-i, and soon, the BYD Ti7 DM-p. This latest model, revealed last month, is the first seven-seat SUV that BYD will sell in the UK. In China, it’s sold through BYD’s Fangchengbao brand. A 1.5-liter turbo engine, two electric motors, a 35.6 kWh LFP battery, and more than 600 hp let it hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.8 seconds, with an all-electric driving range of 79 miles (127 km).
Sales Surge
Demand for BYD models has been strong ever since the brand launched in the UK, and it keeps building momentum. Through the first four months of this year, it sold 26,396 vehicles, a striking 124 percent jump from the same period last year. Across January through April, it captured 7 percent of the EV market and 9.5 percent of the combined EV and PHEV segment.
To put these latest sales figures into perspective, BYD sold only 10,000 vehicles in the UK over the first 19 months, and as of late April 2025, it had just surpassed the 20,000-unit mark.
No doubt helping to bolster interest in the vehicle’s models is the local roll-out of its Flash Charging technology. The first of 300 planned stations across the country was recently constructed, providing charging speeds of up to 1,500 kW.
