A new online survey by the market research access panel, PanelWizzard, with 1,010 drivers, shows that one in three Dutch people prefers driving a Chinese car over an American car like Tesla or Ford to date.
“Chinese brands are on the rise in Europe. We see that in our showrooms as well, and to be honest, the recent developments in the US have been working to our advantage,” says Kjeld Riegan, CEO of Voyah Benelux. That’s the contracting party for the market research. Had it been otherwise, it likely wouldn’t have surfaced, no?
However, other available research suggests that pragmatic factors, like price, quality, and EV infrastructure, are far more significant than geopolitical influences in shaping Dutch preferences for Chinese EVs.
Tesla’s brand image suffered a blow
There appear to be no other studies or consumer surveys in the Netherlands indicating that geopolitical sentiment—particularly dissatisfaction with US politics—is influencing car buyers to prefer Chinese vehicles over American brands.
Tesla’s brand image has suffered a significant blow domestically in the US and Germany, for instance, due to Elon Musk’s political far-right positioning. In the Netherlands, Tesla experienced a substantial sales drop throughout H1 2025, likely in the 40–60% range, extending across the first six months.
Still, these narratives don’t translate into documented behavioral shifts in the Dutch market, as a quick scan of the internet on this subject reveals. Broader factors impacting Tesla in Europe include growing competition from Chinese automakers and an aging model lineup.
China is well ahead in innovation
“It doesn‘t surprise me that motorists in the all–electric segment are increasingly looking at alternatives, and that Chinese cars are increasingly playing a role in this. Practically all cars there are electric; they are well ahead of the Netherlands in terms of use and innovation,” Riegan adds in a press release.
The survey shows Chinese car brands such as BYD, Dongfeng, MG, and Xpeng are now also seen as a fully–fledged alternative to traditional European manufacturers like Peugeot or Volkswagen. In this case, even 51% of the respondents. And this applies in particular to younger generations under forty years old, where the percentage rises to 60%.
The research shows that the Dutch are especially open to Chinese cars because of the competitive price–quality ratio. According to Voyah’s press release, more and more people are also seeing that technological innovations nowadays often come from China. Batteries are essential in EVs, and in this, China clearly has an edge.
Another recent pan-European study, commissioned by Chinese-Swedish EV brand Zeekr, conducted by market‑research firm Markettiers and involving around 8,000 respondents, confirms this.
It reveals that 38% of Europeans are more open to buying a Chinese EV now than they were a year ago, and only 17% are less open. Among current EV owners, this openness rises to 53%—reflecting growing appreciation for battery and charging tech.
Weighing what they get for their money
Voyah Benelux CEO Riegan: “Consumers are looking at cars more and more critically and objectively, carefully weighing up what they get for their money. Aspects such as sustainability, functionality, and innovative technology play a major role in this.”
“The fact that a significant proportion of those surveyed are now considering a Chinese car shows that the penny is increasingly falling our way. Rightly so, because we now meet all European standards in terms of safety, range, and consumption.”
To put things into perspective, PanelWizard stratifies its sample to match the Dutch population by age, gender, household composition, labor market participation, and education. It’s an online access panel, meaning respondents opt in, which inherently excludes non-Internet users and can thus skew representation, especially among certain demographic groups.
Distrust of the reliability of Chinese cars
At the same time, the PanelWizard survey shows that there is still a general distrust of the reliability of Chinese cars, despite European homologation and excellent results in crash tests. One in three even thinks that they do not (always) deliver what they promise in terms of safety, range, and consumption.
The latter probably reflects first experiences with Chinese cars in Europe, which used to be a whole different story twenty years ago, in 2005. The first Chinese car, a Landwind X6 SUV (built by Jiangling based on an old Isuzu design), was tested by ADAC in Germany and Euro NCAP after the brand entered the Dutch market.
Results were catastrophic: the car received zero stars in the crash test, with the cabin collapsing during the frontal impact. The driver dummy showed a very high risk of fatal injury, even at standard test speeds. Euro NCAP gave it a rating equivalent to zero stars, the worst ever recorded at that time, and ADAC called it a “death trap”.
Meanwhile, times have changed, and Chinese cars, especially EVs, are proving to be at least on par with Western vehicles, or even surpassing them in some areas like software development and especially cost efficiency in building them, as prices in China tend to be half of prices here.
The shrinking gap between Western and Chinese
Riegen on the distrust that still surfaces among Dutch drivers: “Everything new and strange is exciting. Like any manufacturer that wants to sell its products in Europe, Chinese car brands must also comply with all European laws and regulations in the field of safety and quality.”
“Moreover, the distinction between ‘Western‘ and ‘Chinese‘ has long since ceased to be so black and white. Many electric cars, including those of European brands, are already made in China.”
“Batteries are almost always of Chinese origin, and a large part of the latest technology also comes from there. What consumers often don‘t know is that there is an increasing fusion between European and Chinese parts and technology, bringing together the best of both worlds.”
Voyah, a brand of one of China’s biggest carmakers, the Dongfeng Group, officially entered the Dutch market (part of Benelux) in late 2023—initiating with dealer partnerships in September, and fully launching via a showroom opening and exhibition presence in October 2023.
In Belgium, Voyah will be introduced this summer by Ghistelinck with a first showroom in Nazareth (near Ghent), with three models: the Voyah Courage SUV (€44,323), the bigger Voyah Free e-SUV (), and the Voyah Dream, a luxury 7-seat also fully electric MPV ().
