Polestar is already making its mark in Britain

Up to 25 China-built electric car brands are expected to descend on the British market from next year, according to Auto Trader, the online platform.

Familiar names already making an impact include MG, now owned by Shanghai Automotive, and Polestar, an offshoot of Volvo, owned by Geely since 2010.

Many brands will be unknown to UK motorists. Nio, whose cars are considered a rival to Tesla, will be launched in Britain this year.

The company has already established itself in mainland Europe. XPeng, a rival to Nio, has a presence in Scandinavia and plans a British launch in 2025.

Chery, the manufacturing partner in China of Jaguar Land Rover, has said it will arrive in Europe, probably next year, and its Exeed sub-brand will make its debut.

Li Auto, backed by ByteDance, the owner of social media platform TikTok, is considering building a European assembly plant.

Ian Plummer, Auto Trader’s commercial director, believes Chinese car brands will benefit from the increasing “brand agnosticism” of British motorists.

“Not all of the Chinese brands will succeed, but we are experiencing forces of change that will give them the very best opportunity of doing so,” he said.

Manufacturers must comply with a zero emissions mandate to raise electric sales in the UK to 22% from the current level of about 16%.