One in Six New Passenger Cars in Iceland Comes from China

China’s push into Iceland’s car market has gathered pace at striking speed. So far this year, Chinese vehicles have made up 17% of all newly registered passenger cars, or roughly one in six.

The share stood at just 2.8% in 2024. From January through August, Iceland registered 1,787 Chinese passenger cars, already surpassing the 1,487 registered during the whole of last year. Chinese models also led the monthly rankings for the first time, with the XPENG G6 at the top in August and the BYD Seal U DM-i leading in July.

XPENG’s rise illustrates the scale of the change. No XPENG vehicle was registered in Iceland in 2023, compared with 44 the following year, 309 in 2025 and 332 so far this year. Leapmotor has followed a similar, though smaller, path: four vehicles were registered last year, while 166 have been registered this year.

BYD has been Iceland’s best-selling Chinese brand over the past three years, after previously being overtaken by MG. Last year, Iceland registered 516 BYD passenger cars and 81 larger vehicles. This year’s figures so far are 482 passenger cars and three larger vehicles. MG registrations reached 463 last year and 440 so far this year.

Chinese commercial vehicles are also gaining ground, although more slowly. Their share of newly registered buses, vans and trucks rose from 1.5% in 2024 to 7.7% last year, and stands at 4.7% so far this year. In total, 4,600 Chinese vehicles have been registered in Iceland over the past four years, including 3,250 made by BYD, MG or XPENG. Other brands include Smart, Maxus, FAW, Great Wall Motors, Higer, King Long, JAC and DFSK.