Global passenger car sales decline: German manufacturers lose ground

Auto Market Global Passenger Car Sales Decline

2026-10-27 From Holger Holzer/SP-X | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

Major automakers are selling fewer vehicles worldwide. The decline is hitting German automakers particularly hard.

Things continue to go poorly for German manufacturers in China.(Source: Volkswagen AG) — Things continue to go poorly for German manufacturers in China.
(Source: Volkswagen AG)

The world’s 15 largest automakers sold just under 50 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year, 1.8 percent fewer than in the same period last year. This is according to an analysis by the Center for Automotive Management (CAM). The decline was particularly pronounced at Volkswagen: The company sold 5.8 million vehicles, nearly 10 percent fewer than a year earlier. Mercedes-Benz (down 7.2 percent) and BMW (down 4.8 percent) also saw above-average declines. The main reason is weak demand in the Chinese market.

Toyota remains the world's largest automaker, with just over eight million vehicles (down 2.7 percent), ahead of Volkswagen and Hyundai (5.4 million units; down 2.1 percent). Among those posting gains were the Chinese manufacturers SAIC (up 12.7 percent) and Chery (up 9.9 percent). Regional markets also showed mixed trends. While new-car sales rose by 6.3 percent in Europe and by 22.7 percent in India, the Chinese market contracted by 21.7 percent. In the U.S., the decline was 2.2 percent.

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