China’s automotive industry reported total production of 34.78 million units for the full year of 2025, a 10.0 percent increase compared with 2024, according to comments published by Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, as reported by Sina.
The sector’s total revenue for the year reached 11,179.6 billion yuan (approximately 1.60 trillion USD), a 7.1 percent year-on-year increase. Cost of goods sold across the industry totaled 9,849.8 billion yuan (about 1.41 trillion USD), resulting in aggregate industry profit of 461 billion yuan (around 65.9 billion USD), a 0.6 percent increase from 2024. Based on these figures, the sector’s overall profit margin was 4.1 percent, below the 5.9 percent average across downstream industrial enterprises in China.
Several major Chinese automakers contributed to the annual production totals. BYD sold 4,602,436 vehicles, Geely Automobile reported 3,024,567 units, Chery sold 2,631,381 units, and Great Wall Motor delivered 1,323,672 vehicles in 2025. Newer entrants also contributed to the totals, with Leapmotor delivering 596,555 units, XPeng Motors 429,445 units, Li Auto 406,343 units, Nio 326,028 units, and Xiaomi Auto exceeding 400,000 units. These figures are included in the sector’s total production and revenue.
Data from an earlier CarNewsChina report showed that Chinese automakers expanded their global sales footprint in 2025 through rising export volumes. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers projected that exports of Chinese‑made vehicles could exceed 6.8 million units for the full year of 2025, up from 5.86 million units in 2024 and contributing to the industry’s overall production totals. In addition, data from the China Passenger Car Association show that China exported 8.32 million vehicles in 2025, with the top three destination markets being Mexico (approximately 625,187 units), Russia (about 582,738 units), and the United Arab Emirates (around 571,937 units).
Performance in December 2025 differed from the annual results. That month, total revenue for the automotive industry was 1,157.3 billion yuan (approximately 165.7 billion USD), 0.8 percent lower than in December 2024. Costs increased 0.8 percent to 1,009.3 billion yuan (around 144.4 billion USD). Profit for December was 20.7 billion yuan (about 3.0 billion USD), down 57.4 percent from the same month a year earlier. The profit margin for December was 1.8 percent, compared with 4.1 percent in December 2024.
Cui also reported financial indicators for the broader manufacturing sector at the end of 2025. Industrial enterprises above a designated size across all sectors had accounts receivable of 27.43 trillion yuan (approximately 3.95 trillion USD), up 4.7 percent year on year, and finished goods inventory of 6.73 trillion yuan (about 964 billion USD), up 3.9 percent year on year.
Data cited from Cui’s commentary show that trends in inventory reduction and accounts receivable terms within the automotive sector were higher than the industrial enterprise average, while automotive profit margins remained below the wider industrial benchmark.
In December 2025, automotive earnings decreased on both an annual and a sequential basis. Annual figures for 2025 showed growth in production, revenue, and costs, with a small increase in total industry profits.
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