From Newcomer to Number One? BYD Targets UK Car Sales Crown by 2030
Chinese car company BYD has big goals for the UK. It wants to become the country’s best-selling car brand by 2030. Right now, BYD is already growing fast. In just the first three months of this year, it sold 9271 cars in the UK. That’s more than what it sold during all of 2024.
Steve Beattie, who is in charge of BYD’s sales and marketing in the UK, says the company has big dreams. “BYD wants to be the number one car manufacturer globally,” he told Autocar. “But you can’t be the number one car manufacturer globally if you’re not number one in many of those countries. So that’s where we want to be.”
When asked if that’s really possible, especially since BYD is still a new name compared to brands like Ford, Volkswagen, or Kia, Beattie responded: “I think I have to have an ambition to be able to do that; we have to have an ambition.”
He says the company already has a good plan. First, they want to grow their brand and get more people to know about it. That includes opening more showrooms. “Whether it’s [that we reach] 120 or 150 showrooms over the next two years, we’ve grown the dealer network to be in touching distance of everybody that needs to buy a car. That’s important.”
Beattie said that around 150 dealers is “a good number” to help BYD reach its sales goals. Right now, Ford has just over 200 dealers in the UK.
The second part of the plan is to sell more types of cars. When BYD first launched in the UK in March 2023, it only offered one model: the Atto 3 crossover. But now the company has more cars, like the Seal saloon, which competes with the Tesla Model 3, and the Dolphin hatchback, which goes up against the Volkswagen ID.3. They also added the Seal U, a plug-in hybrid, and the Sealion 7, which is similar to the Tesla Model Y.
Beattie said the Dolphin and Seal U are very popular with regular buyers. In fact, the Dolphin has “almost sold out.” This year, BYD expects its real sales—both to private buyers and businesses—to grow even more. That’s because it will launch new models, including the Atto 2 small crossover, the Dolphin Surf city car, and possibly another car.
Beattie is very excited about the Dolphin Surf. It will be BYD’s smallest and cheapest car yet. “No car manufacturer really makes an A-segment [car] any more,” he said. “Many car manufacturers have come away from that, because they’re expensive and you can’t make enough money to bring it to market.”
“Bringing that vehicle over [from China] for me is really, really exciting, because it effectively lowers the entry level to the brand. I think it lowers the age opportunity; that we can attract different, younger customers to that car.”
The price hasn’t been shared yet, but Beattie promised it “is going to be extremely competitive.”
The third part of BYD’s plan is to find new ways to sell its cars. One big area is the Motability Scheme, which helps disabled people get cars. So far this year, BYD has only sold 15 cars through the scheme. But Beattie pointed out that Motability registered around 85,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, so there’s a huge chance to grow.
Still, there are challenges. Beattie said the UK’s charging system for electric cars needs work. He explained that long trips are still hard because chargers aren’t always in the right places. Plus, charging away from home is too expensive.
“Just improve it a bit more in terms of where it is,” he said. “But really importantly, make fast charging a better price for the customer. I’m not asking for 10% VAT or anything like that. For me, the most important thing is the cost of on-street charging or going to a DC charger compared to charging at home. It’s just not right, and they need to do something to legislate what that pricing does.”
“That therefore will support the 40% of households that don’t have a driveway to be able to move into and actually benefit from running an electric car.”
Even with these problems, Beattie is confident that 2025 will be a big year for BYD in the UK. “We’re in touching distance of Cupra, Mazda and Tesla, so we will definitely be in the top 20 of the whole market, if not a bit [higher] up there,” he said. “We will be Premier League.”
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
