Slowly but surely, the offensive is starting to bear fruit. In just over two years of presence on the French market, the Chinese BYD is flirting with 1% market share in the electric vehicle sector. The figure may seem modest, but it masks exponential growth in sales: +244% in one year. From 20 distribution sites scattered across the four corners of France in 2023, the Chinese should reach around a hundred sites by the end of the year.
“We sense real enthusiasm and great curiosity from French customers for our products”welcomes Michaël Martinez, PR manager of BYD France. The figure of 10,000 cars sold in one year should be largely exceeded in the years to come, in particular thanks to the opening of a first European production plant in Hungary, like the Chery brand (also Chinese), which has just taken over the old Nissan factory in Barcelona. The latter plans to open 60 to 90 points of sale in France in the coming years.
The strength of BYD, contraction of Build Your Dreams“Build your dreams”, is measured by unparalleled know-how. Its vehicles are designed and assembled 80% in-house. Only windows, brakes and tires are subcontracted. Ditto on the technology side. The world’s second largest supplier of batteries – an element which constitutes around a third of the price of an electric car – the brand stands out for its Blade model, unique on the market, using chemistry without rare metals and offering increased safety. “I would add that our Super Hybrid technology has no equivalent in terms of managing electric motor-combustion engine alternation”specifies Michaël Martinez. Positioned in a “premium-accessible” price niche (from 28,990 euros), BYD, still with the perspective of increasing its market share, plans to attack the high-end with the Denza Z9 GT, launched in early 2026.
In total, Chinese manufacturers, over the first eight months of 2025, sold 29,400 cars in France, or a market share of 3%. With one point of weakness: sales of 100% electric models (two thirds of Chinese sales in 2023) have declined with the introduction of the eco-score which penalizes vehicles imported from China.
Faced with the aggressiveness of this new competition, Europeans are organizing resistance. Like Renault, leader in sales of electric vehicles to individuals (more than 19%) ahead of Citroën and Tesla (10% each). The Renault 5 has taken, by far, first place on the sales podium since its launch. “I think competition is very healthy for stimulating the business and pushing us to give the best to our customers”analyzes Guillaume Sicard, commercial director of the brand in France. The leader recognizes Chinese expertise and takes inspiration from it, even imitating it. “It’s a bit strange to say that we are going to copy the Chinese, but we are not ashamed”he admits. Starting with the modes of production: “We must be able to develop our cars as quickly as possible. We in the West were used to developing vehicles in more than four years. Our goal now is to do it in less than two hours. »
Designing the batteries of tomorrow
The method is applied to the new Twingo, currently under development. The creation or relaunch of models with a strong emotional charge, such as the R4, the R5, the Alpine series, will thus be renewed at the same pace, to allow Renault to continue to keep the Chinese at bay. The other angle of attack for Guillaume Sicard, after working for four years in China, involves strengthening the industrial sovereignty of the Old Continent: “The objective, within two years, is to relocate around 80% of the added value of our vehicles in Europe. » Finally, research and development must be restarted. Renault has just announced the development of a brand new research laboratory to design the batteries of tomorrow. An element which constitutes, more than ever, the sinews of the “war”.
On the corporate fleet side, China is also accelerating
We sometimes forget it, but company vehicle fleets represent around half of the automobile market in France. And if Renault remains largely the leader in this segment, in particular thanks to its timeless Scénic – with more than 40% of market share in the hybrid –, the Chinese shadow looms more and more there too. In terms of volume, for BYD, BtoB has grown by 180% in one year, with nearly 2,810 registrations in France. “This now represents 30% of our sales”underlines Michaël Martinez, PR manager of BYD France. Still far from the French giant, certainly, but through the attractiveness of its products and the growth of its production network, at this rate, the Chinese manufacturer can consider catching up.
