Japanese Automakers in China: 2025 Sales Dropped Due to Slow NEV Adoption and Development Delays

Japanese automakers are facing a difficult situation in the Chinese automotive market. Looking at passenger car registration data since 2018 (including imported vehicles), sales for the Toyota brand in 2025 decreased by 3.6% year-on-year to 1.52 million units, re presenting a 17.4% drop compared to 2022. The Lexus brand maintained stable performance, bringing the total for Toyota Group to 1 .7 million units in 2025, a 3.0% decline from the previous year. Meanwhile, Honda fell 25.2% to 642,000 units, Nissan dropped 20.0% to 535,000 units, and Mazda declined 22.3% to 62,000 units, with all three recording decreases of over 20%.