UKCarwow says 49% of the UK drivers it surveyed would consider a Chinese brand for their next car, the highest figure in the tracker it has run since 2023. The comparable number in the first half of 2023 was 24%.
The line between those two points is not a straight climb. Carwow recorded 39% in the second half of 2025 and 35% in the first half of 2026 before the 49% reading, so the series dips before it jumps. The survey base is 1,270 drivers, and the sample is drawn from carwow’s own car-buying audience rather than a nationally representative panel; the company has not published fieldwork dates or weighting, so the figure describes people already shopping for a car, not the country.
What buyers say is driving it
Among those open to a Chinese brand, 42% named value for money, up from 36% six months earlier, and 24% said they expected competitive discounts. Carwow also reports enquiries for Chinese models placed through its platform rose 119% in the first seven months of 2026 against the same period of 2025, over a range that grew from about 30 models in August 2025 to more than 50.
Awareness by badge
The recognition numbers moved further than the consideration one. BYD is now named by 71% of respondents, against 28% in 2023. Jaecoo reached 69% from 46% a year earlier, Omoda 57% from 42%, Chery 50% from 16% and Xpeng 20% from 8%. The share of drivers who could not name any Chinese brand from the list fell to 16% from 23%.
Auto Trader’s separate reading
Auto Trader runs its own tracker and lands on lower absolute levels for the same period, which is worth keeping distinct rather than blending. It puts BYD awareness at 51%, up from 22% in December 2024, and Jaecoo at 48%. On consideration of specific brands it has MG at 28%, BYD at 22%, Jaecoo at 15% and Omoda at 10%. Its own attitude data points the same way: the share of buyers who say they favour a marque with long automotive heritage has fallen from around 70% in 2024 to 55%, and 14% now say European origins matter to them, roughly half the 2024 level.
The registration data already reflects some of this. Chinese brands took about 15% of UK new-car registrations in the first half of 2026, and the Jaecoo 7 finished the half as the country’s third best-selling car.
The Omoda 7 is a mid-size SUV from Chery's export-only Omoda brand, sold in the UK with a 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine or a 204 PS plug-in hybrid that claims 56 miles of electric running. It sells in China as the Chery Tiggo 7L.
The Jaecoo 7 is a mid-size SUV from Chery's export-focused Jaecoo brand, offered with petrol, full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid power. It became the UK's third best-selling car in H1 2026, just two years after Jaecoo's launch there.
