BARCELONA (Reuters) -When Javier Hernandez went car shopping in Barcelona, he ended up choosing a plug-in hybrid by China's BYD - swayed by a price nearly 10,000 euros cheaper than European rivals.

The 51-year-old Spanish excavator operator wanted something cheap and versatile for city drives and trips to the Catalan mountains, but had doubts about Chinese electrified cars as he didn't know the brands well.

With government subsidies, the BYD Seal U DM-I Hernandez opted for starts at around 30,000 euros ($35,289) in Spain, compared to over 40,000 euros for VW's Tiguan and Peugeot's 3008 plug-in hybrid models.

"The value for money was better, I tried it out and they could give it to me right away," he told Reuters.

CHEAPER CARS, MORE DEALERSHIPS

Cost-conscious buyers like Hernandez are fuelling rapid growth for Chinese EV carmakers like BYD in Spain and around Europe, stepping up competition with regional and U.S. rivals like Tesla, Stellantis ( STLA ) and Volkswagen.

"Until the arrival of BYD, if you wanted to buy an electric vehicle, you had to spend a hell of a lot of money," BYD country manager for Spain and Portugal Alberto De Aza told Reuters. 

BYD's Spanish dealership network has nearly quadrupled to almost 100 dealers from 25 last year, De Aza said, accompanied by aggressive marketing and discounts.

Meanwhile, most established car brands have closed dealerships. Data from Faconauto shows legacy brands had 1,648 dealerships in 2024, down from 2,164 a decade ago. Volkswagen and Audi dealerships fell 40% in that period.

"Chinese competitors are increasing the pressure, and not just on us," Markus Haupt, interim CEO of Volkswagen-owned SEAT told Reuters last week.

CHINESE EV SURGE IN MARKET SHARE

BYD's share of Spain's EV market, including fully-electric models and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), climbed to more than 10% in Spain in July despite EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. That's more than double its European average and three times Tesla's 3.3%.

Its share of Spain's total car market has risen to 1.8% through August from 0.3% last year, surpassing brands like Stellantis' ( STLA ) Jeep or Volvo, data by industry group ANFAC shows. The Seal U is Spain's most popular plug-in hybrid so far this year.

Still, it trails behind top selling brands like Toyota ( TM ), Renault and Volkswagen.

SPAIN: A GATEWAY FOR EXPANSION

Spain's lack of a national automotive champion makes it fertile ground for Chinese expansion, analysts say.

"It doesn't have a strong local carmaker," said Felipe Munoz, analyst at JATO Dynamics, adding that SEAT had lost some of its Spanish identity having been bought by Germany's VW and looked the most exposed.

SEAT's sales are up 4% so far this year, underperforming the broader Spanish market which rose 15%, ANFAC data shows. SEAT's sister brand, up-market Cupra slightly outperformed, with sales up 17%.

Sales of Chinese cars are growing faster. SAIC-owned MG was up 58%, while Chery's Omoda more than doubled its sales in Spain year-on-year through August. BYD sales were up 675% through August to over 14,000 cars.

BYD EYES EUROPEAN PRODUCTION

With cutthroat competition in their domestic market, Chinese brands are increasingly targeting Europe.

BYD aims to produce all EVs for sale in Europe locally within three years and is building a plant in Hungary. Spain could be an ideal location for further expansion thanks to its industrial infrastructure and cheap electricity, said De Aza.

Still, challenges remain.

Combined battery-electric and plug-in hybrid sales in Spain made up 21% of total car sales in July versus 10% in August last year, but below the European average of 27%.

Insufficient charging infrastructure has caused slower-than-expected EV uptake in many European markets, especially in the south. Spain has some 50,000 charging points, a third of the number in the Netherlands despite a far larger population.

For now, Spanish motorists much prefer hybrids and PHEVs, which are central to BYD's European expansion plans.

One of them is Juan Gonzalez, a 56-year-old head of an IT department who has solar panels that could charge any EV model, but bought a BYD plug-in hybrid because he worried about longer journeys.

"If you run out of battery and you have to tackle a mountain pass you're really in trouble," he said.

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