Top 25 global carmakers in 2025: Chinese carmakers are the most represented
- 说明
Top 25 global carmakers in 2025: Chinese carmakers are the most represented
- Global automotive production (passenger cars and light utility vehicles) increased by nearly 2% in 2025 compared to 2024, while global automotive sales (passenger cars and light utility vehicles) are expected to have risen by 4.7%. Passenger car sales have increased by 5.0%, and light utility vehicle by 2.9%.
- As previously mentioned, the largest carmakers in 2025 are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, General Motors, and Stellantis. This so-called "Western" ranking includes the production of non-Chinese models by Chinese carmakers in the figures for non-Chinese automakers. In this traditional ranking, nine Chinese carmakers are among the top 25 in 2025, but only two Chinese carmakers are among the top 10: BYD and Geely.
- If we now include the production of non-Chinese models by Chinese carmakers in the figures for Chinese carmakers, the ranking is significantly different. This time, nine Chinese carmakers are still among the Top 25 in 2025, but four Chinese carmakers are among the Top 10 in 2025. These are BYD and Geely , of course, but also SAIC and FAW, which assemble many non-Chinese cars under license, such as Volkswagen, Audi, Toyota, and GM.
- Since these figures were also deducted from the figures for non-Chinese carmakers in this second ranking, the Volkswagen Group is no longer the second-largest automaker in the world but the third, behind Toyota and Hyundai-Kia. And the GM Group is no longer the fourth-largest automaker in the world but the tenth, behind Ford and FAW. Stellantis, whose production is very limited in China, finds itself in fourth position, behind the Volkswagen Group. Similarly, Suzuki, whose production is also very limited in China, finds itself ahead of Honda.
The Renault group sold 2.34 million vehicles in 2025
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The Renault group sold 2.34 million vehicles in 2025
- The Renault Group (Renault, Dacia, Alpine) sold 2,336,807 vehicles in 2025, compared to 2,264,815 in 2024, representing a 3.2% increase. Of this total, the Renault brand sold 1,628,030 vehicles (+3.2%), the Dacia brand 697,408 vehicles (+3.1%), and the Alpine brand 10,970 vehicles (+139.2%). This is the first time Alpine has exceeded 10,000 annual sales. As for Dacia, its Sandero hatchback remained the best-selling car in Europe in 2025, ahead of the Renault Clio.
- Nevertheless, it's clear that Renault's glory days are over :
1. The carmaker, which sold over 3 million vehicles annually between 2015 and 2020, will never again reach such sales levels.
2. Renault has divested itself of the Lada ( Avtovaz ), Samsung, Jinbei-Huasong , and Mobilize brands .
3. Renault has separated from Nissan in terms of ownership: the Renault-Nissan group, which had a presence on every continent, has ceased to exist.
4. Renault has therefore abandoned the US and Chinese markets, with the European market now representing nearly 70% of its global sales.
5. Renault has ended its partnership with Mercedes in the commercial vehicle sector.
6. A new partnership with the Chinese company Geely is developing but remains relatively unclear.
- However, there are some positive points: Renault is accelerating its push to electrify passenger vehicles in Europe , with 400,000 full hybrid vehicles sold (+35.1%) and 194,000 BEVs sold (+76.7%), representing 8.5% of its global sales. An agreement with Ford Europe provides for the production of new electric Ford vehicles in Renault plants.
The European market (30 countries) declined by 1% in January-February 2026
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The European market (30 countries) declined by 1% in January-February 2026
- The European market (30 countries = EU + United Kingdom + Switzerland + Norway) for passenger cars declined by 1.0% over the two months to date in 2026 compared to the two months to date in 2025 , to 1,938,121 units compared to 1,958,331.
- By country, we note that only a dozen European countries saw their sales increase over the period, and these are mainly low volume countries, such as the Baltic countries, Malta or Croatia, but we observe the presence of three high volume countries, namely the United Kingdom (+4.8%), Italy (+10.1%) and Spain (+4.6%).
- Unfortunately, these countries do not compensate for the decline in sales in high-volume countries such as France (-11.1%) or Germany (-1.4%) and medium-volume countries such as Belgium (-13.2%) or the Netherlands (-16.7%).
- Furthermore, the collapse of the Norwegian market (-48.1%), the European market with the largest share of battery electric vehicles in Europe, is noteworthy. This is due to a VAT increase on electric vehicles scheduled for January 1, 2026, but announced as early as October 15, 2025. Consequently, there was anticipation of vehicle purchases before the VAT increase, resulting in a sharp drop in sales during the first two months of 2026. This situation is expected to stabilize in the coming months.
- Despite this collapse in the Norwegian market, the market share of BEVs in Europe continued to increase, representing 19.6% of sales in 2 months 2026 compared to 16.9% in 2 months 2025 , a gain of more than two and a half points.
- By carmaker, with the exception of Chinese carmakers, only two non-Chinese carmakers saw their sales increase: Stellantis (+8.2%) after a very poor 2025 and Tesla (+0.9%) , which managed to halt its decline that began last year. Among Chinese carmakers with significant volumes, SAIC saw slight growth (+4.8%), followed by Chery (+223%), BYD (+159%), Leapmotor (+605%), Geely (+42%), and Xpeng (+99%).
The Nissan group sold 3.20 million vehicles in 2025
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The Nissan group sold 3.20 million vehicles in 2025
- The Nissan group (Nissan, Infiniti), having divested itself of Mitsubishi (Nissan now only owns 24.5% of Mitsubishi Motors), announces that it sold 3.2 million vehicles (passenger cars + light utility vehicles) in 2025, compared to 3.35 million units in 2024, representing a decrease of 4.4%.
- The Nissan group is sinking inexorably year after year. It's worth remembering that this carmaker sold 4 million vehicles in 2021, 5.2 million in 2019, and even 5.8 million in 2017. After having been on par with Toyota in the 1960s, the gap between Nissan and Toyota has now reached 8 million vehicles.
- Still partnered with Renault for some products (Renault 5 / Nissan Micra, Renault Kangoo / Nissan Townstar, Renault Trafic / Nissan Primastar, Renault Master / Nissan Interstar), platforms and engines, the next step could be to use Flexis electric vans to replace Volvo Trucks.
- According to Inovev, Nissan's production volume did not exceeded 3 million vehicles in 2025. In this context, Nissan fell out of the global top 10 in 2025, overtaken by the Geely and Suzuki groups.
- In terms of capital structure, Nissan regained its independence (following Renault's reduction in its stake) but remains a second rank carmaker. Nissan sold 121,000 BEVs in 2025 (4% of its total sales) compared to 122,000 in 2024.
The Suzuki Group sold 3.3 million vehicles in 2025
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The Suzuki Group sold 3.3 million vehicles in 2025
- The Suzuki Group (Suzuki, Maruti) sold 3.3 million vehicles (passenger cars + light utility vehicles) in 2025 compared to 3.25 million in 2024, representing a small increase of 1.5%.
- The carmaker, which uses the Maruti name in India and the Suzuki name in the rest of the world, retains its tenth place even though the Geely group overtook it last year. Conversely, the Suzuki group overtook the Nissan group, thus ousting it from the Top 10, with the former making modest progress and the latter declining quite sharply.
- Despite the absence of battery electric vehicles in its lineup last year (the first, the e- Vitara, developed in partnership with Toyota, was launched in early 2026) and despite its absence from the US and Chinese markets (the world's two largest markets) due to its smaller models, Suzuki has been making steady progress since 2020 and is now closing in on the Honda group. Suzuki has a strong presence in the rapidly developing Southeast Asian markets.
- But the carmaker is particularly benefiting from the strong growth of the Indian market observed since 2020, where it holds a dominant position (nearly 40% of the market). By 2025, the Indian market was projected to represent 56% of Suzuki's global sales, more than its historical market, Japan (22% of its total sales).
- The collaboration with Toyota continues and Suzuki could leverage its position as a carmaker of A and B segment cars to meet the demand for this type of model, the supply of which is tending to decline in Europe, for example.