(ECNS) -- Chinese automakers sold nearly 27 million vehicles worldwide in 2025, surpassing Japan to claim the world's No. 1 position for the first time, according to a report by Japanese media outlet Nikkei.
Nikkei said Japanese automakers' combined global vehicle sales fell slightly to around 25 million units in 2025, marking the first time since 2000 that Japan has lost the top spot.
China overtook Japan in 2023 to become the world's largest car exporter, a major milestone for the country's auto industry. An expert from Japan's Mizuho Bank commented that Chinese automakers surpassing Japan in total sales is a sign that the global automotive landscape of influence has begun to be reshaped.
Data from the China Passenger Car Market Information Joint Committee (CPCA), under the China Automobile Dealers Association, showed that China exported 3.43 million new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2025, up 70% year on year, accounting for 41% of the country's total vehicle exports. By contrast, the share of conventional fuel vehicle exports fell from 54% in 2024 to 43%.
Cui Shudong, secretary general of the CPCA, told China News Network that both the volume and value of China's auto exports are rising, with NEVs serving as the core growth driver. Overseas markets have become a crucial pillar supporting the industry's development of China, Cui said.
Chinese automakers delivered particularly impressive performances last year. Leading EV startups became profitable as a group, while the new-energy transition units of traditional carmakers also began contributing to overall earnings.
Automakers need to reach a certain production and sales volume to cover their fixed costs. Behind this wave of collective profitability lies the gradual release of scale effects following a period of industry shakeout.
Profit growth has not been limited to carmakers alone. Data from upstream and downstream sectors has been even more striking. For example, Chinese battery giant CATL posted a net profit of 72.2 billion yuan in 2025, averaging nearly 200 million yuan per day. During the same period, software and service providers linked to the auto industry also began contributing real profits, as new business models reshape the old, single-source logic of simply earning a markup on vehicle sales.
In contrast, the major automakers in Europe, the U.S., and Japan are facing a much tougher time. Nissan's sales in China have fallen for seven straight years now. Toyota expects its net profit for fiscal 2025 to drop by 25% year on year. Ford's EV business posted a full-year loss of $4.8 billion in 2025. Volkswagen, meanwhile, has been forced to slash prices on its ID series in China, yet still struggles to maintain market share.
Having missed the critical window of explosive market growth, many legacy carmakers are now left scrambling to catch up at higher cost and lower efficiency.
Meanwhile, automakers are now competing more on innovation.
Over the past year, major automakers have made aggressive R&D investment a common strategy in a bid to secure technological leadership.
In 2025, BYD's R&D spending reached 63.4 billion yuan, up 17% year on year; Geely invested 17.62 billion yuan, a 29% increase; and Great Wall Motor spent 10.43 billion yuan, rising 12.13% from the previous year.
A 2025 report released by Roland Berger, the Automotive Disruption Radar, showed that China is accelerating its rise as the global automotive industry's technology leader, ranking first among all countries surveyed.
This trend indicates that Chinese brands are moving beyond their former low-cost image, turning heavy R&D spending into technological moats and product competitiveness.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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