What the same Chinese EV costs in the UK, Australia and China
We priced the cheapest version of 13 cars from Chinese makers on sale in the UK, then found the same car's price in Australia and its official guide price in China. Every figure links to the page we read it on. Where we could not confirm a price, the cell is left empty and says why.
In all 9 pairs we could check, the UK price is higher than the Australian drive-away price, by a median of 1.6 times. Against the official guide price in China, the UK price is a median of 2.7 times as much, across 8 cars. Australian and Chinese prices are converted to pounds at European Central Bank rates for 27 October 2026.
Australia makes the sharper comparison. Like the UK, it drives on the left, so both markets buy the right-hand-drive car, and its drive-away prices already include registration and stamp duty. Six of the 9 Australian prices are the maker's own national drive-away figure; the other three come from a BYD dealer group's online configurator. On the six alone, the median is 1.6 times.
Every price we checked
| Car | UK | Australia | China |
|---|---|---|---|
| BYD Atto 3Electric | UK£38,990Evo Design. On the road, cash price. | AustraliaA$45,738about £24,132Evo Dynamic. Drive-away from a BYD dealer group's online configurator; the state is not shown.UK price is 1.6 times this | China¥119,900about £13,492Sold as the Yuan Plus. Entry version, 2026 model year. Official guide price, as reported by Xinhua.UK price is 2.9 times this |
| BYD DolphinElectric | UK£30,230Comfort. On the road, cash price. | AustraliaA$28,888about £15,242Essential. National campaign drive-away for orders from 15 September to 15 December 2026.UK price is 2.0 times this | China¥99,800about £11,230Entry version, 2026 model year. Official guide price.UK price is 2.7 times this |
| BYD Dolphin SurfElectric | UK£18,675Active. On the road, cash price. | AustraliaA$19,990about £10,547Sold as the Atto 1. Essential. National campaign drive-away for orders from 15 September to 15 December 2026.UK price is 1.8 times this | ChinaNot shownA new generation went on sale in China on 20 October 2026, sold there as the Seagull. The UK car is the outgoing one, so the two prices are not a fair pair yet. |
| BYD Seal U DM-iPlug-in hybrid | UK£34,995Boost. On the road, before retailer discount. | AustraliaA$46,768about £24,675Sold as the Sealion 6. Essential. Drive-away from a BYD dealer group's online configurator; the state is not shown.UK price is 1.4 times this | ChinaNot shownNot checked for this release. |
| BYD Sealion 7Electric | UK£47,025Comfort. On the road, before retailer discount. | AustraliaA$59,350about £31,314Premium. Drive-away from a BYD dealer group's online configurator; the state is not shown.UK price is 1.5 times this | ChinaNot shownNot checked for this release. |
| Geely EX5Electric | UK£31,990SE. Recommended on-the-road price. | AustraliaA$41,990about £22,154Complete. Before on-road costs; Geely Australia gives a drive-away figure only for a postcode.Not divided: a different price basis from the UK one. | ChinaNot shownTwo different guide prices are quoted for the cheapest version in China, sold there as the Galaxy E5, and Geely's own site shows only a launch offer. We have left it out until that is settled. |
| Jaecoo 7 SHS-PPlug-in hybrid | UK£35,170Cheapest version listed. On-the-road 'from' price. | AustraliaA$39,990about £21,099Sold as the J7 SHS-P. Track 2WD. Drive-away 'from' price for orders by 31 October 2026; varies by location.UK price is 1.7 times this | ChinaNot shownNot checked for this release. |
| Leapmotor B05Electric | UK£30,49567.1 kWh. On the road, before Leapmotor's own £1,500 saving. | AustraliaA$35,990about £18,989Entry version, one colour only. National drive-away offer to 31 December 2026.UK price is 1.6 times this | China¥97,800about £11,005Sold as the Lafa5. 515 Plus, 2026 model year. Official guide price.UK price is 2.8 times this |
| Leapmotor B10Electric | UK£32,49567.1 kWh. On the road, before Leapmotor's own £1,500 saving. | AustraliaNot shownLeapmotor Australia's offer page heads its drive-away price 'B10 Hybrid EV', so we cannot be sure it is the electric car sold in the UK. | China¥99,800about £11,230Entry version, 2027 model year. Official guide price.UK price is 2.9 times this |
| Leapmotor C10Electric | UK£36,50069.9 kWh. On the road, before Leapmotor's own £2,750 saving. | AustraliaNot shownLeapmotor Australia publishes no C10 price we could read. | China¥122,800about £13,819Entry electric version, 2026 model year. Official guide price.UK price is 2.6 times this |
| MG S5 EVElectric | UK£28,995Cheapest version listed. On the road, before the £1,500 MG EV Car Grant. | AustraliaA$41,990about £22,154Essence 49 kWh. National drive-away; an A$2,000 cashback offer to 31 October 2026 is not deducted.UK price is 1.3 times this | China¥116,900about £13,155Sold as the MG ES5. 425 Pro RWD, 2025 model year. Official guide price, read on a Chinese car-data site; no 2026 model year is listed.UK price is 2.2 times this |
| MG4Electric | UK£23,495EV Urban. On the road, before the £1,500 MG EV Car Grant. | AustraliaA$31,990about £16,878EV Urban Essence 43. National drive-away; an A$2,000 cashback offer to 31 October 2026 is not deducted.UK price is 1.4 times this | China¥68,800about £7,742Entry version, 2026 model year. Official guide price.UK price is 3.0 times this |
| XPeng G6Electric | UK£39,990RWD Standard Range. 'From' price; XPeng UK does not say whether it is on the road. | AustraliaA$51,800about £27,330RWD Standard Range. Before on-road costs.Not divided: a different price basis from the UK one. | China¥176,800about £19,895Entry version, 2026 model year. Recommended retail price.UK price is 2.0 times this |
What the gap is, and what it is not
A price gap is not a profit margin. The UK price includes 20% VAT. The Chinese guide price includes China's own VAT but not its purchase tax. The Australian drive-away price includes GST, registration, compulsory third-party insurance, stamp duty and dealer delivery. Shipping, import duty, warranty length, dealer margin and standard equipment also differ, and a price list shows none of them.
- The cheapest version is not always the same car. Battery size and equipment can differ between markets, so every price names the version we priced.
- Offers are listed, never deducted. UK prices are before any grant or maker's saving, and Australian prices are before cashback. Several Australian figures are campaign prices with a closing date, shown beside them.
- Range is not compared here. China quotes CLTC and the UK quotes WLTP, and the two are never mixed on this site.
How we priced it
Which price. In the UK, the on-the-road price including VAT, before any grant. In Australia, the national drive-away price where the maker publishes one; otherwise the list price before on-road costs, which we show but never divide. In China, the official guide price, before purchase tax and limited-time offers.
Which car. A car counts as the same car when the maker sells it on the same platform with the same body, even under another name: the Atto 1 in Australia, or the Yuan Plus, Lafa5 and MG ES5 in China.
Confidence. An official figure was read on the maker's or importer's own site. A manufacturer figure is the maker's guide price read on a Chinese news or car-data site because the maker's own page did not show it. An estimate is a drive-away price worked out by a dealer group's configurator for a state it does not name.
Checking. Each price was read from its source, then checked a second time against the same page on 28 Oct 2026. Anything we could not confirm is left out, with the reason, rather than estimated.
Currency. European Central Bank euro reference rates for 27 October 2026: £0.83658, A$1.5856 and ¥7.4343 to the euro.
Updates. We reprice the index every quarter. A price change we notice in between is logged with its date, not silently overwritten. Spot a price that has moved? Tell us.