Chinese plug-in hybrid electric cars are rapidly flooding the European market, with exports to the bloc rising an extraordinary 600 per cent year on year in May as China’s brands take advantage of an exemption in European Union tariffs.
The trend is part of a wider boom in sales of Chinese passenger plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), with China’s overall exports of the cars soaring 127 per cent year on year in May, according to data released on Monday by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).
The country’s exports of passenger plug-in hybrids – cars with fewer than nine seats that are equipped with both a rechargeable battery and a traditional combustion engine – were up nearly 140 per cent over the first five months of 2025 as total shipments reached 324,000 units.
Much of this growth is being driven by a spike in sales in a few key markets – especially Europe. China’s passenger PHEV exports to the EU skyrocketed about 600 per cent year on year in both volume and value terms in May, according to Chinese customs data.
PHEVs can be divided into three categories: passenger cars, goods vehicles, and buses and lorries. Passenger cars, with fewer than nine seats, are the most common type.
Chinese carmakers pivoted to PHEVs after the EU imposed tariffs of up to 45.3 per cent on China-made battery electric vehicles, which came into full effect in November.
