Three more Chinese car brands have announced plans to start selling cars in the UK over the last week, joining a host of brands from China that have already arrived in the last 12-18 months.
Geely, Chery and Denza are the new names, and they all have connections to Chinese and/or European brands already selling cars in the UK. They are all expected to reveal more information about their plans at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, with some of their new cars on display and in action.
Chery is the parent company of Omoda and Jaecoo, which have both arrived here in the last 12 months and are already making waves in the new car market. Now parent company Chery Automobile is planning a UK launch with a range of models under its own name. In China, Chery also owns a host of other brands, so it has a wide choice of potential models available to bring to the UK market.
Geely is the parent company of Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company, formerly the London Taxi Company), and a stakeholder in Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Renault and others. It’s also launching here later this year under its own name, with its first model set to be (unsurprisingly) a mid-sized electric SUV.
Denza is the premium sister brand to BYD, the highest-profile of the Chinese car brands that have landed on these shores in the last couple of years. It is believed to be planning a range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, including a Porsche Taycan-style estate, an SUV and a people carrier.
More on the way
These three names are not going to be the last new Chinese arrivals in the UK, with more brands on the horizon and currently working out their plans.
Deepal, one of several brands owned by parent company Changan, has previously indicated that it is working on a September launch for its first UK-bound model (shockingly, another mid-sized electric SUV…), while brands like Zeekr and Lynk&Co (who both offer a range of small-to-medium electric SUVs) are currently operating in left-hand drive European markets and are expected to launch in the UK in the next year or two.
There are other brands whose plans have bounced around for a while but look likely to land at some point – Aiways, Firefly, Nio, and more.
A few Chinese brands have already arrived and are yet to make a significant impact, but have further models in the wings. These include GWM, Maxus (already established with its van range), Skywell and Xpeng.
Finally, there are even more brands that have yet to announce plans but are known to be working on UK expansions – Chery is believed to be evaluating at least one more brand from its Chinese family to add to its UK portfolio, while BYD has previously shown models from another of its luxury brands, Yangwang, at last year’s Goodwood Festial of Speed.
More in our series ‘Spotlight on China’:
