With the release of 2025 sales figures, there were few surprises: BYD once again emerged as the clear leader among China’s domestic carmakers. Yet more striking than its total annual sales of 4.6024 million vehicles was another milestone—2.26 million of them were fully electric. That achievement propelled BYD to the top of the global pure-EV rankings, displacing Tesla from a position it had long dominated. This first-ever overtake carries significance beyond a simple change in numbers, signalling the arrival of a new “China force” at the very apex of the global electric vehicle market.

“Judging by recent market trends, despite major policy shifts such as the withdrawal of tax exemptions for new energy vehicle purchases, I believe the car market will still get off to a strong start in January 2026.” “The outlook for the automotive market in 2026 is far from optimistic. For a period of time, it is even possible that growth in car sales will lag behind overall GDP growth.”

As 2026 gets under way, carmakers have begun releasing their 2025 sales figures, laying bare the intensity of competition across the industry.The numbers tell sharply different stories: some manufacturers have surged far ahead, outperforming expectations on the back of clear strategy, technological strength and strong product line-ups; others are grappling with severe headwinds and struggling to gain traction; while in certain camps, fortunes have diverged dramatically, producing a stark tale of winners and losers.

Even before China’s car market sees its first sales surge of the new year, a fierce contest of targets is already under way among automakers in 2026.Leapmotor has set its sights on the million-vehicle mark, implying a year-on-year jump of 67.6%, while Xiaomi Auto is pressing ahead more cautiously, aiming for 550,000 units—still a robust increase of 34%. The contrast is striking. Geely is targeting 3.45 million vehicles, a rise of 14.1%, while Changan has set a goal of 3.3 million units, up 13.3%. Elsewhere, joint-venture brands such as GAC Toyota and SAIC Volkswagen are even more restrained, with growth targets limited to the single digits.

Chery, long regarded as a quietly dogged “engineering-first” carmaker guided by long-term thinking, mounted a striking offensive in 2025 across global markets and both emerging and traditional segments—revealing an unexpected burst of speed and aggression.

In order to be deemed green energy, a resource cannot produce pollution, such as is found with fossil fuels. This means that not all sources used by the renewable energy industry are green.