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China’s Auto Industry Hits Milestone with Over 10 Million Cars Produced and Sold

Automobile

Business Honor
13 May, 2025

Strong start in 2025 driven by NEVs and government support for vehicle trade-ins.

China's automobile sector has commenced 2025 on a strong note, both vehicle production and sales having achieved the 10 million milestone within the first quarter of the year. As stated by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), January to April production of vehicles touched 10.175 million units, an improvement of 12.9% over the equivalent period last year. Sales equaled 10.06 million units, reflecting a 10.8% increase year-to-year.

New-energy vehicles (NEVs) were the major drivers for this growth. NEV sales hit 4.3 million units, up 46.2% from the previous year, while production climbed to 4.429 million units, up 48.3%. These clean-energy cars accounted for 42.7% of new vehicle sales. Export of NEVs also increased to 642,000 units, up 52.6% from the previous year.

Experts attribute the better performance to the support of solid government policies and robust economic growth. Zhang Xiang, representing the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, indicated that policy support and a stable economy played important roles. Analyst Wu Shuocheng further indicated that Chinese NEVs also enjoy growing demand abroad as a result of good performance, reasonable prices, and sophisticated features.

The trade-in program of older cars initiated by the government is also assisting in driving up sales. To date, over 3.2 million individuals have applied for subsidies on vehicles to be traded in, of which more than half have been replaced by NEVs.

CAAM forecasts that this growth trend will continue until 2025, when overall automobile sales will be 32.9 million units. NEV sales are forecast at 16 million. In 2024, China dominated the world auto market for the sixteenth consecutive year, producing and selling nearly 31 million cars, setting yet another record.