Chinese cars are everywhere. Skywell wants to leave.
The importer, Innovation Automotive, shut the door. Abruptly. No replacement yet. Just silence and empty showrooms.
They arrived in late 2024 with high hopes. Only one car. The BE11 electric SUV. We looked at it. It’s fine, really. But compared to rivals? It falters. Sales didn’t exactly explode. Thirty-one units sold in all of 2025? That is barely a footnote.
Plans were grander. Fifty dealers by year’s end. Reality is twelve or so. Now sixteen stores are in limbo, wondering if their keys will even open doors next week.
David Clark. Former GM for Skywell. He’s trying to keep the faith. Says this collapse has nothing to do with Skywell itself. The brand is looking for a new handler. A new distributor. He says dealers got the news. He promises parts exist. Somewhere. In Innovation Automotive’s stock, presumably waiting for a buyer that doesn’t exist yet.
“Warranty administration will also transfer… ongoing support can be offered.”
Words on paper. Terms not finalized. Fingers crossed.
Meanwhile.
V12 Sports and Classics bought the rest of the new stock in June. They’ve registered it. All thirty or so units are essentially second-hand before they’ve ever had a owner. Prices crashed. From £31,956 down to £14,494? Half price for a car nobody asked for.
Why did it break?
Money. Innovation Automotive’s owners simply ran out of steam. The UK demands heavy, continual investment to stay alive. They couldn’t pay. They folded.
We asked Skyworth Group—the parent company—for a word. Crickets. Nothing by press time.
Here’s the hard truth.
If they don’t find a home fast, Skywell goes down as the first casualty. The first Chinese brand to washout in these islands. BYD? Here to stay. MG? Solid. But others like Maxus or Great Wall Motors? Ghosts in the machine. No impact. No trace.
Is it too expensive to dream small?
Probably.
The car is gone. The dealer network is frozen. The parent company is quiet. And somewhere in a lot in Essex, half-price EVs sit gathering dust.
