Sales of Chinese-made vehicles, including exports, rose by over 16% year-on-year to 2.857 million units in August 2025, after declining by 5% to 2.453 million units a year earlier, according to passenger car and commercial vehicle wholesale data compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Domestic sales rose by 15% to 2.246 million units last month, while exports increased by 20% to 611,000 units.
The Chinese government has stepped up its stimulus measures this year to boost domestic vehicle sales, including increasing vehicle trade-in incentives which primarily favour new energy vehicle (NEV) sales. The country’s vehicle market has also responded to strong price competition among domestic manufacturers and numerous new model launches this year.
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The government recently confirmed that it will continue to fund its current subsidy programmes at least until the end of 2025, but has ordered local vehicle manufacturers to rein in their excessive discounting, which is seen as damaging the profitability and prospects of the country’s smaller, less established electric vehicle (EV) brands.
In the first eight months of 2025, total sales of China-made vehicles increased by almost 13% to 21.128 million units, up from 18.766 million a year earlier, including a 13% rise in domestic sales to 16.836 million units, with exports also rising by 13% to 4.292 million units. Overall sales of passenger vehicles increased by 14% to 18.341 million units, while commercial vehicle sales rose by 4% to 2.787 million units.
Sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) rose by over 37% to 9.622 million units year-to-date, accounting for over 45% of total deliveries by the country’s automakers. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales surged by 46% to 6.154 million units, while plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) sales rose by 22% to 3.468 million units – with growth slowing sharply in the last several months. Domestic NEV sales rose by 31% to 8.091 million units year-to-date, while exports rose by 87% to 1.531 million units.
Overall vehicle production in the country increased by almost 13% to 21,050 million units year-to-date, compared with 18.674 million in the same period last year.
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By GlobalDataManufacturer performances
BYD’s global sales rose by 23% to 2,863,876 units in the first eight months of 2025, including 630,728 overseas sales. Overall sales of passenger PHEVs increased by just 8.4% to 1,424,949 units, while passenger BEV sales surged by 39% to 1,400,843 units and commercial vehicle sales jumped nearly fourfold to 38,074 units.
SAIC Motor reported an 18% increase in global sales to 2,753,493units year-to-date, driven by a 37% surge in SAIC-GM-Wuling’s deliveries to 999,345 units. SAIC-VW’s sales dropped by 3% to 658,322 units, while SAIC-GM’s sales rebounded by 29% to 331,216 units from depressed levels a year earlier. Overseas sales increased by just over 2% to 664,414 units, while global NEV sales surged by 44% to 893,328 units.
Geely Automobile Holdings reported a 47% rise in global sales to 1,897,064 units in the first eight months of 2025, while Chery Automobile’s sales rose by over 14% to 1,727,299 units, with exports increasing by 11% to 798,804 units. GAC Group, including its joint ventures with Toyota and Honda, reported a 12% sales decline to 1,010,477 units, while Great Wall Motor’s sales increased by less than 6% to 789,719 units – with overseas sales rising by 3% to 283,192 units.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory sales fell by 13% to 551,552 units year-to-date, with sales in China falling by 7% to 361,179 units despite the recent launch of the revised Model Y, while exports plunged by 24% to 154,373 units.
