China Auto Sales Hit Record 34 Million in 2025
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China’s vehicle sales climbed 9.4% year-on-year to a record 34.4 million units in 2025, driven by robust exports and government trade-in subsidies that spurred demand well beyond early industry estimates.
Production also reached a new high, rising 10.4% to 34.53 million units, marking the third consecutive year that both output and sales exceeded the 30 million mark. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), which released the data on Wednesday, had initially predicted growth of only around 3% for the year, but the market outperformed expectations thanks to the government push to promote equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-ins.
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- China’s vehicle sales hit a record 34.4 million units in 2025, up 9.4%, with NEVs comprising 50.8% of the domestic market and exports surpassing 7 million units.
- Government trade-in subsidies fueled growth, but momentum slowed in Q4 due to financial constraints and upcoming subsidy changes.
- BYD led sales with 4.6 million vehicles, while CAAM forecasts growth to slow to 1% in 2026 amid declining incentives and economic challenges.
- BYD Co. Ltd.
- BYD Co. Ltd. maintained its position as the top automaker, selling 4.6 million vehicles globally in 2025, a 7.7% increase. Their exports surged by 140% to 1.05 million units. This performance contributed to China's record-high vehicle sales and production figures for the year.
- SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd.
- SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. was the second-largest automaker in terms of global sales in 2025, selling 4.39 million units. This represented a notable 12.4% increase in sales. No further details about SAIC are provided in the article.
- Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.
- Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. achieved significant growth in 2025, with sales increasing by 37.5% to nearly 3.6 million units. This makes them the fastest-growing among the top three automakers mentioned, though they ranked third in overall sales behind BYD Co. Ltd. and SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd.
- Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.
- Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. maintained its position as the top auto exporter in 2025. The company shipped 1.34 million vehicles, contributing to China's record-breaking export figures for the year. This achievement highlights its significant role in the global automotive market, especially amid strong overall growth in Chinese vehicle exports.
- Through September 2025：
- Domestic sales grew at an average year-on-year rate of 12.5%.
- October 2025：
- Domestic sales growth cooled to 5.8% year-on-year.
- November 2025：
- Domestic vehicle sales in China declined by 4.4% year-on-year.
- December 2025：
- Domestic vehicle sales in China declined by 15.6% year-on-year.
- By late December 2025：
- China's trade-in policy generated sales of more than 11.5 million vehicles and 1.6 trillion yuan in revenue.
- January 1, 2026：
- A 50% reduction in NEV purchase tax incentives took effect.
- January 15, 2026：
- China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released the data for 2025 vehicle sales and production.
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