Euro 2024 adverts trigger surge in interest for Chinese electric cars

Interest in electric vehicles built by a Chinese manufacturer advertising at Euro 2024 matches has surged, figures show.

Online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader said it has recorded 189,387 views of its adverts for new and used BYD models since the start of the tournament on June 14, up 33% compared with 142,537 during the previous month.

BYD – an abbreviation of Build Your Dreams – has bought prominent slots on electronic scrolling pitchside advertising boards at the matches in Germany, which have all been broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK.

That included England’s semi-final victory on Wednesday, for which ITV said a peak of 21.6 million people tuned into ITV1 and ITVX to watch, making it the most-watched television programme of the year so far.

Interest in BYD vehicles could increase further as even more people are expected to watch Sunday’s final.

Auto Trader editorial director Erin Baker said: “England and Spain may be fighting for the trophy, but it’s clear from our data that China’s BYD is already a big winner off the pitch.

“Rising traffic on the Auto Trader website across the four weeks of this tournament shows that there’s been a step-change in awareness of BYD little more than a year after they entered the UK market.

“This high-profile media partnership only underlines their ambitions in Europe where they face tough competition from the well-established legacy brands.

“BYD’s sales are growing rapidly, albeit from a low base, and the Euros partnership looks like cementing them in the public consciousness.”

Interest in BYD models since the beginning of Euro 2024 has been led by the Seal, a saloon car.

Its Auto Trader adverts have been the fourth-most viewed among EVs in that period, with the Tesla Model 3 in first place followed by the Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV9.

Separate Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures show that by the end of June there had been 4,062 UK sales of new BYD cars since March 2023, when the Chinese manufacturer entered the UK market.

The European Commission announced last month it is proposing to impose tariffs of 17.4% on BYD vehicles bought in the European Union (EU).

It said it is concerned that Chinese car makers are benefiting from “unfair” subsidies which are “causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV (battery electric vehicle) producers”.