Chinese Car Sales Projected to Surpass Japan This Year

KatadataOTO – Four-wheeled vehicles produced in Japan have dominated the global market for more than 20 years. However, in 2025, Chinese cars are predicted to surpass this achievement for the first time.

Referring to data from S&P Global Mobility, the Chinese car sales in question include commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, both domestic and for export.

Specifically, the figure is projected to be around 27 million units for Chinese cars. Meanwhile, Japanese-made vehicles are projected at 25 million units.

The trend of Chinese cars has been emerging for some time now. Various brands are competing to introduce new models with abundant features but at a lower price point.

Photo: BYD

Interestingly, many Chinese cars are now environmentally friendly vehicles, whether they are hybrids or fully electric.

In China, incentives from provincial governments have contributed to boosting vehicle sales. As much as 70 percent of car sales there are dominated by New Energy Vehicles (NEVs).

However, the key to the success of Chinese car sales in the global market actually stems from oversupply. There, many models have abundant stock, which has resulted in a price war.

To overcome this, many manufacturers then export their vehicles to potential countries.

Moreover, various countries, especially in Southeast Asia, have begun to implement policies that benefit environmentally friendly car manufacturers.

In Indonesia, brands like BYD benefit from incentives for imported electric cars or Completely Built Up (CBU) units.

This means all BYD products entering Indonesia can be sold more competitively even though they are not yet produced locally.

Throughout 2025, BYD is importing 60,000 units across various models, including the Seal, Sealion 7, Atto 3, and their newest product, the Atto 1.

The incentive is given on the condition that the manufacturer must carry out local assembly equivalent to the number of imported units successfully sold to consumers in Indonesia, i.e., retail sales.

The dominance of Japanese automotive brands is now starting to be overtaken by China. Previously, in 2018, global sales of cars from the Land of the Rising Sun had reached 30 million units.

A similar situation is also occurring in Indonesia. Chinese brands are present, offering a variety of new models at competitive prices.

Photo: KatadataOTO

In November 2025, for example, four Chinese brands entered the top 10 car brands with the highest retail sales (distribution from dealers to consumers).

BYD was in third position with 8,243 units, right behind Daihatsu with 12,750 units.

Even in the previous month, October 2025, BYD's retail sales reached 9,732 units.