Chinese cars reach 17% of Iceland’s new passenger car registrations

Chinese passenger cars accounted for 17% of new registrations in Iceland so far this year, or roughly one in six vehicles, mbl.is reports.

The share has risen sharply from 2.8% in 2024. Chinese models topped the list of newly registered passenger car models for the past two months, a first in Iceland. The XPENG G6 led registrations in August, while the BYD Seal U DM-i was the best-selling model in July, according to statistics from the Icelandic Transport Authority.

From January through August, 1,787 Chinese passenger cars were registered in Iceland. That is already more than the 1,487 registered during the whole of last year. In 2023, only 325 Chinese passenger cars were registered.

BYD has been the best-selling Chinese brand over the past three years, having previously been overtaken by MG. Last year, 516 BYD passenger cars and 81 larger vehicles were registered. So far this year, the figures are 482 passenger cars and three larger vehicles. MG registrations totalled 463 last year and have reached 440 this year.

XPENG has also recorded strong growth. No cars of the brand were registered in 2023, followed by 44 in 2024, 309 in 2025 and 332 so far this year. Leapmotor had no registered vehicles two years ago, followed by four last year and 166 so far this year.

The number of Chinese buses, vans and trucks registered in Iceland has also increased, although at a slower rate than passenger cars. Chinese vehicles accounted for 1.5% of new registrations in those categories in 2024, 7.7% last year and 4.7% so far this year.

A total of 4,600 Chinese vehicles have been registered in Iceland over the past four years. BYD, MG and XPENG account for 3,250 of them. Other brands include Smart, Maxus, FAW, Great Wall Motors, Higer, King Long, JAC and DFSK.