Chinese EV launching in 2026

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

2026 may well be the year when Chinese EV go mainstream in the UK with a few brands lining up to flood the market with models packed with cutting edge tech but sorely lacking the charisma, charm and credentials of more established brands. I did a bit of digging and these are the models that I think will come in 2026.Feel free to add more to it.

- Xiaomi SU7
- Xpeng G6 (updated)
- Xpeng G9
- Xpeng X9
- Nio Firefly
- Geely EX2
- Skywell Q
- Skywell Skyhome
- Zeekr 7x
- Zeekr 001
- Zeekr X
- NIO EL6
- NIO ET7
- Ora Ballet Cat
- Ora Lightning Cat

Edited by Pistonheadsdicoverer on Friday 12th December 13:02

Edited by Pistonheadsdicoverer on Friday 12th December 13:03

Edited by Pistonheadsdicoverer on Friday 12th December 13:08

[SDK]

Add to that list : Zeekr 7X

[fooman]

Nio Firefly looks cool, but the XPeng models as look dull as they sound.

[kambites]

Realistically I think that was 2025, albeit only with two brands. IMO it's hard to argue against the idea that MG and BYD are both already mainstream brands.

[malaccamax]

fooman said:

Nio Firefly looks cool, but the XPeng models as look dull as they sound.

Xpeng is improving on design I reckon after just following Tesla's soap bar tedium. But 'dull' sounding? Isn't that all EVs or are you in the wrong group?

[TheDrownedApe]

all the skywell stuff too

[raspy]

"sorely lacking the charisma, charm and credentials of more established brands"?

If you were talking about ferraris etc, I would understand what you mean, but how much additional charisma and charm does a Vauxhall Corsa EV have over a Nio firefly?

How much additional charisma and charm does a Renault Scenic E-Tech/VW ID4 have over an Xpeng G6?

The sales data of stuff like the Jaecoo 7 SUV suggest that some consumers wanting a regular family car aren't seeking a vehicle that has the most amount of charisma and charm, and aren't put off by the lack of "credentials" of a newly launched brand in the UK.

The Jaecoo 7 was launched in January 2025, and already in the top 10 bestselling cars in the UK for the last 4 months.

A lot of people are just looking at more basic qualities like value for money, comfort, and reliability, and don't have the same prejudices against "new" products from "new" companies that others can't let go of.

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

raspy said:

"sorely lacking the charisma, charm and credentials of more established brands"?

If you were talking about ferraris etc, I would understand what you mean, but how much additional charisma and charm does a Vauxhall Corsa EV have over a Nio firefly?

How much additional charisma and charm does a Renault Scenic E-Tech/VW ID4 have over an Xpeng G6?

The sales data of stuff like the Jaecoo 7 SUV suggest that some consumers wanting a regular family car aren't seeking a vehicle that has the most amount of charisma and charm, and aren't put off by the lack of "credentials" of a newly launched brand in the UK.

The Jaecoo 7 was launched in January 2025, and already in the top 10 bestselling cars in the UK for the last 4 months.

A lot of people are just looking at more basic qualities like value for money, comfort, and reliability, and don't have the same prejudices against "new" products from "new" companies that others can't let go of.

Yeah, that was probably a bit too sarcastic. In reality, as you said most of us won't care about those 3C. The fact that Jaecoo was car of the year for Leasing.com and Carwow means we're in a watershed year. Sort of 2018 before Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and others bumped LG, Sony and a slew of smartphone vendors off the list into oblivion.

I am probably more concerned about "What if st hits the fan and the car doesn't startup" situation.

[raspy]

Pistonheadsdicoverer said:

raspy said:

"sorely lacking the charisma, charm and credentials of more established brands"?

If you were talking about ferraris etc, I would understand what you mean, but how much additional charisma and charm does a Vauxhall Corsa EV have over a Nio firefly?

How much additional charisma and charm does a Renault Scenic E-Tech/VW ID4 have over an Xpeng G6?

The sales data of stuff like the Jaecoo 7 SUV suggest that some consumers wanting a regular family car aren't seeking a vehicle that has the most amount of charisma and charm, and aren't put off by the lack of "credentials" of a newly launched brand in the UK.

The Jaecoo 7 was launched in January 2025, and already in the top 10 bestselling cars in the UK for the last 4 months.

A lot of people are just looking at more basic qualities like value for money, comfort, and reliability, and don't have the same prejudices against "new" products from "new" companies that others can't let go of.

Yeah, that was probably a bit too sarcastic. In reality, as you said most of us won't care about those 3C. The fact that Jaecoo was car of the year for Leasing.com and Carwow means we're in a watershed year. Sort of 2018 before Huawei, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and others bumped LG, Sony and a slew of smartphone vendors off the list into oblivion.

I am probably more concerned about "What if st hits the fan and the car doesn't startup" situation.

If the car doesn't start up, you simply call the roadside assistance number provided by the manufacturer. With Jaecoo, their roadside assistance is via RAC.

It's not like these Chinese manufacturers in the UK are selling models that are unsupported like a Fisker Ocean would be.

[fourstardan]

Neighbour has just turned up in an XPENG.....I thought I was going bonkers reading the back of it as I thought it was a Tesla for a few days where he'd parked it the other way.

[CSR Performance]

I'm just back from some time in China.

I would happily run an XPeng, Xiaomi or Zeekr as a daily. They do some great looking cars now and the interiors are superb.

[fooman]

malaccamax said:

fooman said:

Nio Firefly looks cool, but the XPeng models as look dull as they sound.

Xpeng is improving on design I reckon after just following Tesla's soap bar tedium. But 'dull' sounding? Isn't that all EVs or are you in the wrong group?

Lol kinda meant G6 G9 X9 R2 D2 etc but see how it reads.

[ZesPak]

raspy said:

If the car doesn't start up, you simply call the roadside assistance number provided by the manufacturer. With Jaecoo, their roadside assistance is via RAC.

It's not like these Chinese manufacturers in the UK are selling models that are unsupported like a Fisker Ocean would be.

I understood his concern to be more: What if the UK gets in a conflict with China and Chine decides to turn off the entire infrastructure, including your car.
I'm a 100% positive they could, I'm very not sure they would though.

[kambites]

ZesPak said:

I understood his concern to be more: What if the UK gets in a conflict with China and Chine decides to turn off the entire infrastructure, including your car.
I'm a 100% positive they could, I'm very not sure they would though.

If we get into a serious conflict with China, my car not starting would be the least of my concerns!

I suspect the Chinese government could also disable most European cars too anyway, given that all the component electronics are made in China

[charltjr]

I have a G6 on a cheap salary sacrifice lease. It’s good. In no way is it a driver’s car but if you’re expecting Christmas cracker quality interiors and crappy road manners you’ll be shocked, in a good way.

[Durzel]

I’m hoping to pick up a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in 2026 or 2027, assuming there’s some kind of service centre presence by then. It looks incredible in terms of specs.

[Durzel]

ZesPak said:

raspy said:

If the car doesn't start up, you simply call the roadside assistance number provided by the manufacturer. With Jaecoo, their roadside assistance is via RAC.

It's not like these Chinese manufacturers in the UK are selling models that are unsupported like a Fisker Ocean would be.

I understood his concern to be more: What if the UK gets in a conflict with China and Chine decides to turn off the entire infrastructure, including your car.
I'm a 100% positive they could, I'm very not sure they would though.

To be honest I’d be more concerned of that kind of capriciousness with Tesla and Musk, than I would China. They appear to be the adults in the room when it comes to responding to punitive measures - see how they handled the whole tariffs situation.

[ZesPak]

kambites said:

ZesPak said:

I understood his concern to be more: What if the UK gets in a conflict with China and Chine decides to turn off the entire infrastructure, including your car.
I'm a 100% positive they could, I'm very not sure they would though.

If we get into a serious conflict with China, my car not starting would be the least of my concerns!

I suspect the Chinese government could also disable most European cars too anyway, given that all the component electronics are made in China

That's why I said: infrastructure.
I'm positive nothing more complex than a blender would turn on.

[fooman]

Like Japan and Korea before them China has gone from those funny little cars to mainstream very quickly.

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

CSR Performance said:

I'm just back from some time in China.

I would happily run an XPeng, Xiaomi or Zeekr as a daily. They do some great looking cars now and the interiors are superb.

Did I miss any cars from the list?