2026-01-12 15:12:29

China is leading a historic shift in the global auto industry:

Global sales of Chinese vehicles are estimated to have surged +17% YoY in 2025, to a record ~27 million units.

At the same time, Japanese automakers are estimated to have remained flat at ~25 million units.

This would make China the world’s largest new-vehicle seller, ending a leadership run Japan held for over 20 years.

For context, Japan led China by ~8 million units in 2022, meaning the gap has been erased in just 3 years.

China became the world's leading auto exporter in 2023.

By comparison, US automakers have stagnated at ~11 million units since 2020, now less than half of Chinese and Japanese sales.

China is dominating the auto market.

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