China's car sales surpass Japan, ranking first globally

Judging from new car sales in 2025, China’s automakers’ global sales are expected to rise to No. 1 for the first time, while Japanese automakers that have held the top spot for more than 20 years will fall to No. 2. China’s auto exports have already moved into first place, establishing its status as an auto superpower. To counter Chinese companies with relatively strong pricing competitiveness, countries may build barriers in the form of tariffs and new standards. Friction around the world is intensifying, and protectionism to protect domestic companies may strengthen.

Nikkei is conducting its analysis based on data from materials released by companies for January to November 2025, and figures from S&P Global Mobility. Sales include commercial vehicles. Sales cover overseas markets including both the domestic market and exports. Countries are classified according to the equity contribution ratio; if both parties contribute half, the country is determined by the country to which the manufacturer that owns the brand name belongs at the time of sale.

China’s global auto sales are forecast to grow 17% year on year to reach about 27 million units. China ranked first in auto exports for the first time in 2023. Overall sales will also move to the top in 2025.

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The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Financial Times merged in November 2015 into the same media group. The alliance formed by the two newspapers—Japan’s and the UK’s—both of which were founded in the 19th century—is moving forward under the banner of “high-quality, the most powerful economic journalism,” advancing cooperation across a wide range of areas including joint special features. In this instance, as part of that effort, an article exchange has been carried out between the Chinese websites of the two newspapers.