Chinese EVs could soon be on sale from a Laois car showroom

Chinese-made electric cars could soon be on sale directly to motorists in Laois with confirmation that a major Irish car distributor wants to sell two China-made brands in a local showroom.

Motor Distributors Limited (MDL) has announced plans to appoint new dealers to represent its growing portfolio of brands with Chinese made electric cars at the forefront.

With the sale of Electric Vehicles (EVs) surging back in January, MDL director, Ciaran Allen, said there is a ‘scale of opportunity’ for dealers as BYD grows market share in Ireland, and as new-arrival XPENG also wants to be major player.

He said MDL is recruiting main dealers to expand its network to sell the China models.

“As BYD’s sales volumes to-date show, Irish motorists are ‘responding enthusiastically’ to the cost savings that electric motoring brings, and to the ‘more for less’ value that Chinese-built vehicles deliver.

“Now, with the arrival of XPENG on to the market here, and the launch of its ‘hi-spec’ G6 SUV, the added competition that this new market entrant brings will drive growth and increase customer interest even further,” said Mr Allen. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured XPENG G6

Looking forward, he added: “In numerical terms, XPENG is poised to significantly increase its model offering beyond the G6 model now available. Ahead of us is the promise of their flagship G9 SUV, their P7 Sedan and their P7 Plus Fastback Sedan.

“With BYD, the future is similarly positive with five new models in the pipeline. They are a Sealion 7 SUV; an all-new ATTO 2 – partner model for the ATTO 3 which won the Continental ‘Best Compact SUV of the Year 2024' Award; and an attractively-modelled sub-compact BYD Dolphin,” he said.

He said the BYD Seal range is also being expanded with Seal Coupe and Seal Estate models.

MDL say there are BYD dealerships are in operation in Dublin (2), Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford (Enniscorthy), Kerry (Castleisland) and Galway.

With the ambition to further increase BYD’s presence on the market – and with the added requirements that the launch of XPENG brings, Mr Allen concluded that plans being pursued by MDL to allow for a “significant expansion in dealer numbers”.

Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) official 251 new vehicle registration statistics for January show that EV sales experienced a record-breaking month with the highest sales recorded to date. The 4,925 registrations in January, represented 20% increase when compared to 4,093 in January 2024.

SIMI reported that in the new car market share, petrol cars remain the leader (despite a decline in share) at 28.24%, followed by Hybrid (petrol electric) 24.89%, diesel at 16.31%, electric at 14.69% and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.17%.