Global production (passenger cars + light utility vehicles) is expected to increase by 2.9% in the first half of 2025
- The volume of global automotive production (passenger cars + light utility vehicles) increased by 2.9% in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024, with 45,047,798 vehicles produced compared to 43,758,792 units.
- Many carmakers are seeing their production increase, mainly Chinese carmakers, with very strong increases for BYD (+31%, +512,000 units), Geely (+26%, +374,000 units) and Chery (+19%, +200,000 units).
- BYD thus becomes the sixth largest carmaker in the world, with 2,161,128 vehicles produced in the first half of 2025, ahead of Ford (2,028,235 units) and Nissan (1,949,113 units) which declined by 2% and 9% respectively.
- BYD – which aims to produce 4.6 million vehicles throughout 2025 – is outpaced by Toyota (+6%, 5,437,232 units), Volkswagen (-2%, 4,150,268 units), Hyundai-Kia (+3%, 3,644,678 units), Stellantis (-12%, 2,809,113 units), and GM (+9%, 2,683,346 units). However, GM's volume can be legitimately challenged because its subsidiaries Wuling and Baojun are also 50.1% owned by the Chinese company SAIC. These subsidiaries account for nearly 600,000 vehicles produced in the first half of 2025, and these brands alone represent GM's entire increase in 2025 compared to 2024.
- Geely group ranks 9th(+26%, 1,788,252 units), ahead of Honda (-8%, 1,736,463 units) and Suzuki (+1%, 1,613,666 units). The Chery group comes in 13th (+19%, 1,230,390 units), behind the BMW group (-4%, 1,231,299 units) but ahead of the Renault group (+2%, 1,166,017 units) and Mercedes (-6%, 1,117,109 units). Tesla follows with 786,074 units, registering a decline of nearly 15% compared to last year.