Chinese automakers overtake Japanese rivals in Europe for the first time

Chinese car brands outsold Japanese brands across Europe over a full quarter for the first time, with September registrations nearly doubling from a year earlier. Dataforce figures put Chinese brands at 12.7% of European car sales that month, compared with 11.9% for Japanese brands, a gain driven mainly by hybrids. Five years ago Chinese brands accounted for barely 1%. The figures measure new-vehicle registrations, not factory production. BYD and Chery are among the Chinese companies winning customers from established players such as Toyota, which entered Europe in 1963, and Nissan, which has built cars at its Sunderland plant since 1986.