China’s Automobile Market: Record Sales in 2024, Slight Increase Expected in 2025

China’s factory shipment of automobiles (domestic sales and exports) in 2024 is expected to reach just over 31 million units, up slightly from 30 million units in the previous year, reaching a new record high for the fourth consecutive year since 2021. Exports increased from 4.91 million units in the previous year to approximately 5.8 million units in 2024, making China the world’s largest automobile exporter for the second consecutive year. China’s automobile market (calculated by subtracting exports from factory shipment and adding imports) is predicted to be approximately 26.03 million units in 2024, roughly unchanged from the previous year. Although factory shipment scale increased driven by the expansion of exports, domestic consumption remained sluggish due to the slow recovery of the Chinese economy and difficulties for young people to find employment. As a result, the scale of automobile sales in China is forecast to remain at the same level as the previous year.