Chinese passenger cars reach 17 percent of Iceland registrations

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

The share has risen sharply from 2.8% in 2024. Between January and the end of August, 1,787 Chinese passenger cars had been registered, compared with 1,487 during all of last year.

Chinese models topped Iceland’s monthly registration lists for the first time in July and August. The BYD Seal U DM-i was the most registered model in July, followed by the XPENG G6 in August, according to figures from the Icelandic Transport Authority.

XPENG has seen particularly rapid growth. No XPENG cars were registered in 2023, compared with 44 in 2024, 309 in 2025 and 332 so far this year. Leapmotor also had no registered cars two years ago, while four were registered last year and 166 so far this year.

BYD has been the best-selling Chinese brand in Iceland over the past three years, having previously been surpassed by MG. Last year, 516 BYD passenger cars and 81 larger vehicles were registered. This year, the figures are 482 passenger cars and three larger vehicles. MG registrations stood at 463 last year and 440 so far this year.

Registrations of Chinese buses, vans and trucks have also increased, although at a slower rate than passenger cars. Chinese vehicles represented 1.5% of 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.