KATHMANDU: The final global automotive sales rankings for 2025 are in, and the results signal a significant shift in the industry’s balance of power. With Stellantis Group releasing its financial report on February 26, the full picture is now clear, and China is its defining story.
Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai Motor, and General Motors held onto the top four spots, showing that established giants aren’t going anywhere just yet. Stellantis rounded out the fifth position, selling over 5.4 million units after a strong second half that saw an 11 percent year-on-year rebound.
But the real headlines belong to China.
BYD overtakes Tesla
BYD climbed to sixth place globally with annual sales of 4.6 million vehicles. Within that figure, pure electric vehicle sales reached 2.26 million units, a nearly 28 percent jump from the previous year, enough to push past Tesla and claim the title of the world’s top electric vehicle seller for the first time. It’s a milestone that would have seemed ambitious just a few years ago.
SAIC and Geely join the top ten
SAIC and Geely also moved up the rankings, both surpassing Ford and Honda in the process. Geely’s rise was especially notable, the company posted growth for five consecutive years and crossed the 4 million unit mark annually for the first time. Nissan, on the other hand, dropped out of the top ten entirely.
China’s trade-in incentive programs played a meaningful role in driving these numbers. According to China’s Ministry of Finance, the schemes generated over roughly 380 billion US dollars in sales during 2025, benefiting around 360 million consumers. Vehicle trade-ins exceeded 11.5 million units, with new energy vehicles making up nearly 60 percent of replacements.
China produced and sold around 34.5 million and 34.4 million vehicles respectively in 2025, both record highs and representing year-on-year growth of over 10 and 9 percent. This marks the 17th consecutive year that China has held its position as the world’s largest automotive market.
New energy vehicles crossed the 16 million unit production and sales threshold, accounting for more than half of all new car sales in the country. Auto exports surpassed 7 million vehicles, making China the world’s top exporter. New energy vehicle exports alone reached 2.6 million units double the previous year’s figure.
China’s share of the global automotive market reached 35.6 percent for the full year, up from 34.2 percent in 2024, according to Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association.
Even from the European side, the shift is being acknowledged openly. Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume, who visited China alongside the German Chancellor on February 25, described China as far more than just a consumer market.
In his words, China is now a source of innovation, a technology partner, and a core pillar of global value creation leading the pace in electric mobility, software, artificial intelligence, and battery technology.
For an industry that once looked to Detroit, Stuttgart, and Tokyo for direction, 2025 may well be remembered as the year the axis shifted east.
