The UK has no plans to raise tariffs on the ever-growing numbers of Chinese car imports, the business secretary has told Auto Express.
In 2023, the year BYD joined MG on UK sale, Chinese brands took four per cent of the UK new car market, totalling 83,000 registrations. That soared to 223,000 cars in the first eight months of 2026 – more than 15 per cent of total registrations – ignited by additional new entrants including Jaecoo, Omoda, Chery and Leapmotor.
Chinese cars face a flat 10 per cent UK import charge; to enter Europe, each brand has an additional top-up tariff, calculated by the EU according to the level of state subsidy. This cranks up BYD’s rate to 27 per cent while SAIC, the owner of MG, suffers a 45.3 per cent total rate, for example.
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