Chinese electric vehicle brands captured 14.2% of western European battery electric vehicle sales in the first five months of this year — roughly one in seven cars sold — up from 9.4% in the same period last year, according to Schmidt Automotive Research. The UK, which unlike the EU has not imposed additional import levies on Chinese EVs, accounted for a quarter of those sales, while a spike in Italy was driven largely by one brand, Leapmotor, whose T03 model briefly sold for as little as €5,000 after Italian government subsidies were applied. Analysts warn the surge is intensifying pressure on traditional European carmakers already struggling to meet tighter emissions rules, though research founder Matthias Schmidt suggests Chinese manufacturers may now pivot toward plug-in hybrid vehicles, which currently fall outside the EU's additional tariff regime of up to 35.3%.