# Chinese Car Brands Edge Japanese Rivals in Western Europe’s Q2

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/40908
Published: 2026-10-26T09:55:21.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-26T09:55:21.000Z
Section: Business

> Chinese brands registered 351,873 passenger cars from April through June 2026, about 2,000 more than Japanese brands.

Chinese-branded passenger cars narrowly outnumbered Japanese-branded cars in Western Europe in the second quarter of 2026, giving Chinese automakers their first quarterly lead over long-established rivals.

From April through June, Chinese brands recorded 351,873 new registrations, about 2,000 more than Japanese brands. Both groups had a rounded 10.7% market share. The underlying registration totals show a narrow lead even though the shares appear equal when rounded.

The comparison follows brand identity across fuel types and includes vehicles regardless of where they were made. It measures registrations by Chinese brands, rather than imports from China or sales of battery-electric cars alone.

That scope differs from the European Union’s five-year countervailing duties on battery-electric vehicles imported from China. The duties took effect Oct. 30, 2024. Rates for specified exporting producer groups include 17% for BYD Group, 18.8% for Geely Group and 35.3% for SAIC Group. The quarterly registration ranking covers a broader set of vehicles than those subject to the duties.

The small margin also leaves room for timing effects. Matthias Schmidt said there was likely a “front-loading element associated with the GSR-2 type approval regulatory change from July across the EU.” The assessment did not quantify any effect on the gap between Chinese and Japanese brands.

Japanese automakers began establishing a presence in the region in the early 1970s. By the end of that decade, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda had each exceeded 100,000 annual registrations. The four soon passed 1 million registrations combined.

SAIC began rolling out MG models under its ownership in Europe in 2016. In the second quarter of 2026, Chinese brands moved just ahead of the Japanese group in the regional passenger-car tally.