Three Chinese groups — BYD, SAIC Motor and Geely Holding — made the global top 10 for 2025 sales and climbed the ranking, China’s Cailian Press (CLS) reported.
CLS said BYD rose to sixth, while Nissan slipped out of the top tier.
Up top, the table stayed put.
CLS said Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor and General Motors held the first four places. Stellantis remained fifth on more than 5.4 million vehicle sales, and CLS noted its second-half sales rose 11% year on year.
CLS quoted an observer who boiled the 2025 ranking down to two points.
First, Chinese brands carried more weight: BYD’s higher placing came despite a brief wobble, while SAIC and Geely’s restructuring and product push translated into better slots.
Second, the gap widened among Japanese brands. Toyota stayed comparatively steady, CLS said, but pressure built on Honda and Nissan, with Nissan dropping out of the top 10.
| 2025 rank | Automaker group | 2025 sales (m) | Rank change vs 2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota | 11.32 | — | +4.65% |
| 2 | Volkswagen Group | 8.98 | — | -0.51% |
| 3 | Hyundai Motor Group | 7.27 | — | +0.60% |
| 4 | General Motors | 6.18 | — | +3.03% |
| 5 | Stellantis | 5.48 | — | +1.27% |
| 6 | BYD Group | 4.60 | +1 | +7.72% |
| 7 | SAIC Motor | 4.51 | — | +12.33% |
| 8 | Ford Motor Company | 4.40 | -2 | -1.68% |
| 9 | Geely Holding | 4.12 | +2 | +26.03% |
| 10 | Honda Motor | 3.52 | -1 | -7.53% |
CLS credited China’s climb partly to policy support, especially the trade-in and scrappage replacement schemes.
Ministry of Finance figures cited by CLS put trade-in related consumer goods sales in 2025 at more than 2.6 trillion yuan, covering about 360 million uses of the programmes.
Vehicle trade-ins topped 11.5 million units, and new-energy vehicles accounted for close to 60% of trade-in vehicle sales, CLS said.
China’s role in the global market, plus faster overseas growth, also played a part.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), told CLS China’s global share rebounded to around 40% in November 2025 and held about 37% in December, with full-year share rising from 34.2% in 2024 to 35.6% in 2025.
BYD reported 4.602 million vehicle sales for 2025, including 2.2567 million battery-electric vehicles, up 27.86%, and CLS said BYD moved past Tesla on the year’s pure-EV sales. Overseas volume reached 1.05 million units (up 145%), CLS added, while SAIC’s overseas sales hit 1.071 million (up 3.1%).
CLS also cited China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data showing China’s 2025 production and sales reached new highs, with exports above 7 million units, including 2.615 million NEV exports.
CLS quoted Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, who said China was not only a sales market for Volkswagen and Europe, but also a key partner for EVs, software, AI and battery development — and, increasingly, where the next wave gets built first.
