The group, headquartered in Wolfsburg, was overtaken in 2025 in terms of sales by the Chinese provider Geely, after already losing the top spot in 2024 to BYD, the world's largest electric carmaker. Combined, Volkswagen's two joint ventures with the state-owned companies FAW and SAIC now hold a market share of just 10.9 percent, which is 1.3 percentage points less than the previous year, according to data released Monday by the industry association CPCA.
Geely achieved an 11 percent market share, representing an increase of 3.3 percentage points. BYD leads the market with a 14.7 percent share, down from 16.2 percent in 2024. Recently, Chinese manufacturers have made significant gains in the People's Republic, ending Volkswagen's years-long dominance. The strong growth in electric vehicles plays a key role, as these cars have become increasingly popular in cities, thanks in part to government subsidies, and Western manufacturers have recently fallen behind. The drop in prices for these vehicles also contributes to this trend. Currently, more than one in two new cars in China is sold for less than 150,000 Yuan (equivalent to just over €18,000).
(Report by Qiaoyi Li, written by Christina Amann, edited by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at Berlin.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or Frankfurt.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)
