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The rate at which Chinese cars are improving is unprecedented.

Twenty-five years ago, China was knocking out models like the Lubao CA6410 – essentially the front end of an Austin Montego mated with the rear end of an Austin Maestro and a Toyota engine.

But today, after decades of rapid economic growth, a few copycat creations and concentrating firmly on electric cars, Chinese models are up there with the best in the business.

They tend to be among the cheapest cars on the market - but don't don’t think it’s all price-driven pragmatism. They’re catching up with European, Japanese and Korean efforts in terms of interior quality and driving fun too.

We currently peg the Xpeng G6 as the best Chinese car on sale in the UK. It really is a credible Tesla Model Y rival, with an upmarket interior, decent ride quality and a price advantage over the American EV.

Below you will find our favourite cars from Chinese companies.

Ford will launch a new range of affordable electric cars based on a new platform.

Claimed to be as revolutionary for the company as the arrival of the Model T, the Ford Universal Electric Vehicle Platform – created during a three-year project – will be first used for a mid-size pick up truck that will arrive in 2027 priced at $30,000 (around £22,000).

Ford boss Jim Farley said more models will follow the pick-up, which Ford has teased to be a crossover and a three-bench SUV, which are likely to start at around the same price. They will be built at the brand’s Louisville plant in the US which will be readied for EV production with a $2 billion investment.

The vehicles are expected to be offered globally, given Farley proclaimed “from Kentucky to the world” when speaking about the new platform.

The cheapest Ford currently on sale is the Puma Gen-E which starts at £29,995 in the UK. 

The first model, however, has been created with an eye on Ford’s home market. It will be positioned to take on the Amazon-backed Slate Truck and used to boost sales in the electric-skeptical US market. Other EVs sold there include the Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning pickup truck, and the E-Transit van.

It is expected to take the Ranchero name, multiple online reports have suggested. This would fall into Ford’s push of assigning notable names from its past – such as Capri and Explorer – for its new electric cars.

No technical details about the platform were revealed, but Farley said the pick-up will be “faster than a Mustang twin-turbo”, offer “amazing” range as well as offer enough charge to “power a house for six days”. It will also offer “very fast” charging and run from an operating system that can be updated over the air.

He added that the platform has been created to  major on interior space. It will be “more spacious inside than a Toyota Rav 4” the best selling SUV in the US. 

More to follow.

The UK government is poised to introduce mandatory eye tests for drivers aged above 70 as part of the first official road safety strategy in more than a decade.

Under a proposal reported by the BBC and several national newspapers, over-70s would be required to undertake an eye test when they renew their licence every three years.

Currently they are allowed to self-report the quality of their eyesight when renewing their licences.

The government is also considering reducing drink-driving limits across the UK to the level permitted in Scotland – from 35µg per 100ml of breath to 22µg – and allowing roadside drug swabs to be used as evidence to prosecute drivers caught under the influence.

Drivers could also face penalty points on their licences if caught carrying a passenger who is not wearing a seatbelt.

However, it has ruled out the controversial ‘graduated licence’, which would place curfews and other limits on the freedoms of new and young drivers, the BBC reported.

The proposals remain part of a consultation, it added, with justice minister Alex Davies-Jones telling BBC Breakfast that the government “will keep everything under review”.

Should they pass the consultation stage, it would mark the biggest change to the UK’s road safety laws “for decades”, Davies-Jones added.

An unnamed government source cited by the BBC and The Guardian said the new strategy is aimed at “protecting road users” and “restoring order to our roads”.

The changes no doubt come as a response to the plateau in annual numbers of serious injuries and deaths on the road in recent years.

According to provisional figures recently published by the government, 29,537 people were seriously injured or killed in road collisions in the UK last year – “little change” compared with 2023. Fatalities were up by 1% to 1633.

Compared with figures from 2014, incidences of serious injury or death were down 14%, while fatalities fell 8%.

Kia has slimmed down its Picanto line-up, added a new range-topping Xceed model and ended production of the Ceed and Ceed SW as part of a major line-up reshuffle.

The Picanto – the Korean brand’s second best seller, behind the Sportage – is now sold exclusively with a 67bhp 1.0-litre petrol triple, Kia having ditched the 62bhp 1.0-litre triple and a 76bhp 1.2-litre four. 

The Xceed has gained a 177bhp 1.6-litre petrol four in top-rung guise, while the base model’s 158bhp 1.5-litre petrol four has been replaced by a 113bhp hybridised 1.0-litre triple. 

Both cars are offered with manual or automatic gearboxes (excluding the Xceed’s new 1.6-litre petrol).

Meanwhile, their trims have been renamed, with Pure, GT-Line and GT-Line S replacing 2 and 3.

Prices start at £16,695 and £25,165 and top out at £20,245 and £33,125 respectively.

The Ceed and Ceed SW have been axed entirely. Both were built at Kia's Zilina plant in Slovakia and, along with the Proceed, of which production ended in December, they will not be directly replaced, a Kia spokesperson said. 

Autocar understands the new K4 will fill the void of all three cars when it arrives in Europe later this year, although this is yet to be officially confirmed.

Kia’s new combustion-engined Volkswagen Golf rival, built in Mexico and sold in North America in both hatchback and estate forms, was spotted testing in Europe earlier this year.

The spokesperson confirmed to Autocar that the culling of the three models makes way on the Zilina production line for the incoming EV4, Kia’s first foray into the electric C-segment. Deliveries are scheduled to begin imminently. 

It also frees up space for the incoming EV2, Kia's new entry-level EV, which will be manufactured at the plant from early 2026. 

This was previewed by a concept earlier this year and will be twinned with a Hyundai model – expected to be named Ioniq 2 – that is expected to be revealed at the Munich motor show.

The Ceed (originally badged Cee’d) arrived in 2006, followed quickly by the Ceed SW estate and three-door Proceed (reinvented in 2019 as a shooting brake). The raised, crossover-esque Xceed arrived in 2019.

During its lifetime, the Ceed has been one of the Korean brand’s best sellers, especially in Europe, where it averaged some 80,000 sales a year.

The heavily facelifted DS No4 will arrive in October, with prices starting at just under £37,000 for its first ever electric variant.

As part of the major update unveiled in May, the C-Segment hatchback receives a fresh look and a new name.

EV buyers are offered with a single powertrain option, which combines a 58.3kWh (net) battery for 278 miles of range with a single electric motor that sends 210hp and 253lb ft of torque to the front wheels.

This is the same powertrain as the similarly sized Peugeot e-408 and recently facelifted Citroën ë-C4, meaning the new DS can be rapid-charged at rates of up to 120kW, allowing for a 62-mile top-up in 11 minutes.

For £36,995, buyers get the base-level Pallas trim which includes dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and a bigger 10.25in instrument cluster than before.

Pallas+ trim – which adds a heat pump and keyless entry – moves the price up to £39,160, with the range topping out at Etoile – Alcantara dashboard, 360deg camera – at £41,860. 

The No4 is also still offered with a 146bhp mild-hybrid and 222bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain. The latter set-up offers up to 50 miles of engine-off range (via a 14.6kWh pack), 30% more than the car it replaces.

Pricing starts in Pallas+ trim at £32,200 for the hybrid (the cheapest variant sold) and £39,00 for the PHEV. The range tops out at £37,400 and £44,200 respectively in Etoile Nappa – this trim is not available with an electric powertrain and adds, as the name suggests, a Criollo Brown Nappa leather interior.

The C-segment hatchback has been the French brand’s best-seller in the UK since its 2021 launch, albeit with just 2300 sales. 

While it has done much better in Europe, amassing 10,405 sales in 2024, DS is struggling, with overall deliveries dipping 22.4% last year. 

It was recently suggested that parent company Stellantis was ready to offload DS last year, but instead it has publicly backed the brand.

In a bid to rejuvenate itself, DS has brought to market a new flagship SUV in the No8 and given its best-seller a wide-reaching update.

This starts with a new name, No4, which follows last year’s new SUV and is part of an effort to move DS back into the premium sphere.

Yet, it will be the addition of an electric variant that should give the model added appeal – especially in the UK, where manufacturers are pressed to sell an increased number of EVs. 

DS has transformed the design of the new No4, bringing it inline with the stylings of the new No8. This is focused on the nose, which now features a new wider and redesigned grille, as well as the same V-shaped light signature as the SUV.

The bonnet has also been extended by 12mm. At the rear, new LED lights feature.

In keeping with its push to remain a premium option, 19in alloys are fitted as standard, with 20s offered at a cost.

Inside, the cabin has been subtly revised, with the main change the fitment of a new 10.25in instrument cluster.