China's Top Automakers in 2025: Winners and Losers

China Market Insider The Winners and Losers Among China's Automakers in 2025

2026-01-08 From Henrik Bork | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

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The numbers are in and show who counted among the rising stars in the Chinese car market in 2025 and who did not.

The photo was taken at the BYD dealer conference in Germany. Globally, the manufacturer has significantly expanded its sales network and thereby been able to substantially increase its sales.(Image: BYD) — The photo was taken at the BYD dealer conference in Germany. Globally, the manufacturer has significantly expanded its sales network and thereby been able to substantially increase its sales.
(Image: BYD)

BYD not only defended its title as China's largest automaker but has now also beaten Tesla globally on its own turf. Geely and a number of other OEMs in China have made significant gains. In the segment of electric cars and hybrids, there has been a sort of baton change at the top.

BYD was able to sell approximately 4.6 million cars last year, more than any other manufacturer in China, according to the Chinese economic newspaper Meiri Jingji Xinwen. With this, BYD remains the undisputed sales champion among China's automakers, despite only producing electric vehicles and hybrids.

BYD is the Largest EV Manufacturer

On New Year's Day, it also became clear that BYD has dethroned the previous global champion Tesla in the sales of pure electric vehicles. The automaker in Shenzhen announced that it sold a total of 2.26 million electric vehicles in 2025, an increase of 28 percent.

For the first time, there were more pure electric vehicle sales globally over the year than Tesla. Tesla's sales fell by 8.6 percent to 1.6 million in 2025. Many analysts recalled this change in leadership, noting how Elon Musk did not take BYD seriously as a competitor back in 2011, making dismissive comments about the Chinese company.

Now, Tesla is ranked second behind BYD, even though the Chinese automaker is not allowed to sell cars in the USA, while China is Tesla's second-largest market. BYD has managed to grow not only in China itself but also in exports, while Tesla has been struggling.

Geely Has a Very Successful Year

The second-largest Chinese automaker, Geely, has also had a strong year. The company, owned by Daimler shareholder and Volvo buyer Li Shufu, sold just over three million cars in 2025. This was a historic record for the company, and it also achieved its annual target.

The Winners of 2025 : These Chinese automakers have exceeded their sales targets in 2025
Manufacturer	Sales (Units)	Year-over-Year Growth	Target (Units)	Target Achievement
BYD	4.602.436	7.7%	4.600.000	100%
Geely	3.024.567	39%	3.000.000	101%
Leapmotor	596.555	103%	500.000	119%
Xpeng	429.445	126%	350.000	123%
Xiaomi	400.000+	/	350.000	114%
_{Source: Company Information}

Nearly 1.7 million of these were electric vehicles and hybrids, which are mostly collectively referred to as "New Energy Vehicles" or NEV in China. This represented a 90 percent growth for Geely's NEV segment year-over-year. It also means that in 2025, Geely sold more electric vehicles and hybrids in a single calendar year than conventional internal combustion engine cars for the first time.

China's Automotive Market Grows, Prices Drop

When focusing solely on sales in the People's Republic of China, the past year was characterized by very tough competition. A persistent price war put pressure on margins for many manufacturers. However, in terms of the number of cars sold, the market continued to grow overall.

The total figures for 2025 are not yet available, but from January to November 2025, nearly 13.8 million NEVs were sold in China, representing an increase of over 28 percent compared to the same period the previous year. During the same period, just over ten million internal combustion engine vehicles were sold in China, reflecting a decline of six percent compared to the previous year.

The Losers of 2025: These Chinese automakers did not achieve their sales targets in 2025
Manufacturer	Sales (Units)	Year-over-Year Growth	Target (Units)	Target Achievement
Great Wall Motor	1.323.672	7%	4.000.000	33%
Li Auto	406.343	−19%	640.000	63%
Nio	326.028	47%	440.000	74%
HIMA	589.107	32%	1.000.000	59%
Zeekr	224.133	1%	320.000	70%
_{Source: Company Information}

Stellantis Partner Leapmotor Sees Largest Growth

Focusing the analysis on the NEV segment reveals some surprises for 2025. Leapmotor experienced the largest sales growth, delivering nearly 600,000 electric vehicles and hybrids, which is an increase of over 119 percent compared to the previous year.

With this, the old "triumvirate" among the so-called new forces of Chinese electromobility consisting of Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto is now history. Xpeng remains strong, having sold 430,000 cars in the past year, reflecting a growth of 126 percent.

However, the other two did not perform as well. Both Leapmotor and the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), a partner of Huawei, surpassed the three former showcase start-ups, Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto, in absolute sales figures.

Despite an increase to more than 320,000 sold electric vehicles in the premium segment (+ 46.9% year-over-year), Nio could not achieve its self-imposed sales target for 2025. Meanwhile, Li Auto saw its sales decline by nearly 19 percent year-over-year to just over 400,000 units.

Robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi: With Momenta, a Chinese AI specialist for autonomous driving, and the local partner Lumo, Mercedes-Benz aims to establish a shuttle service with highly automated S-Class vehicles in the United Arab Emirates. (Image:Mercedes-Benz)

The supplier ZF sells its division for assistance systems. This step is being critically assessed in Asia. (Image:ZF)

A Dazzling Year for Xiaomi

Xiaomi, which has just been selling electric vehicles for slightly less than a year, has reportedly achieved an impressive market launch with approximately 410,000 sales, according to several Chinese trade media. The successful foray of the mobile phone and electronics giant into the automotive industry is undoubtedly one of the biggest business success stories in China during the reporting period.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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Market observers in China noted with regard to the annual figures that a second wave of consolidation is taking place as the transformation to electromobility continues. In the first wave, companies like Neta, WM Motor, HiPhi, and Jiyue had to give up. It is now becoming apparent that "the strong are getting stronger" and are increasingly widening the gap between themselves and the smaller "new forces."

Overall, while reliable figures will only be available in the coming weeks, a slightly slowed growth of the Chinese automotive market is currently indicated. As a result, competition among Chinese manufacturers is shifting even more towards exports in the new year. Thus, the first trend of the new year is already established. At the end of this new year, the largest winners and losers in the global market will be crowned.