China's auto production, sales both surge over 30% YoY in Feb. 2025, despite slight MoM dip

In February, after the Chinese New Year holiday, China's automotive industry saw accelerated production and sales activities, with new product launches and promotional events boosting market vitality. As a result, both vehicle production and sales registered strong year-on-year growth.

In the first two months of 2025, the expanded and early implementation of the vehicle trade-in policies drove demand, alongside technological advancements and product upgrades by automakers. The passenger vehicle segment continued its strong performance, the commercial vehicle market showed signs of recovery, and new energy vehicle (NEV) sales remained on a rapid growth trajectory. This robust start has laid a solid foundation for a strong first-quarter performance for the Chinese auto market in 2025.

As China implements the economic strategies outlined in the Central Economic Work Conference, various government ministries have introduced targeted measures to stimulate market growth. These include expanding trade-in policies, optimizing the consumption environment, and stabilizing foreign investment. The government's work report has also emphasized the need to "accelerate efforts to address weak links in domestic demand, particularly in consumption, making it the primary driver and stabilizing force of economic growth."

The combined effect of these policies is expected to further strengthen the auto industry's steady upward trend, encourage innovation among enterprises, and support the industry's high-quality development.

In February 2025, there were 2.103 million vehicles produced in China, representing a 14.1% month-on-month decline but a 39.6% year-on-year leap. Meanwhile, China's auto sales stood at 2.129 million vehicles, which dropped 12.2% from the previous month while jumping 34.4% from the previous year, according to data provided by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Among the vehicles sold in the past month, 1.688 million units were consumed domestically, down 13.6% month-on-month but up 39.9% year-on-year.

In the first two months of this year, a total of 4.553 million vehicles were manufactured in China, representing a 16.2% rise compared to that of the previous year. At the same time, China's year-to-date auto sales amounted to 4.552 million units, climbing up 13.1% from a year ago.

Despite the month-on-month slowdown overall, China's NEV market still maintained its robust growth trend.

In the past month, a total of 888,000 NEVs were produced in China, skyrocketing 91.5% year over year. Meanwhile, the country's NEV sales reached 892,000 units, soaring 87.1% from a year ago and accounting for 41.9% of the China's total auto sales volume.

Among the NEVs sold last month, 760,000 units were sold in the domestic market, indicating a 4.2% month-on-month dip and a 92.6% year-on-year spike. On the other hand, China's NEV exports saw a 12.6% month-on-month decline but a 60.5% year-on-year hike in February, amounting to 131,000 units.

Xiaomi SU7; photo credit: Xiaomi EV

In the first two months of 2025, China's NEV production and sales volumes summed up to 1.903 million units and 1.835 million units, respectively, both surging 52% year over year. NEVs constituted 40.3% of China's auto sales in the period.

In the Jan.-Feb. period, China's domestic NEV sales reached 1.554 million units, zooming up 51.6% from a year ago. At the same time, the country's NEV exports increased 54.5% year over year to 282,000 units.

STERRA ES; photo credit: Chery

In terms of Chinese automaker's overall performance in overseas markets, the country's monthly auto export volume stood at 441,000 units in February, slightly dipping 6.2% from the previous month while jumping 16.9% from the previous year.

In the first two months of this year, automakers in China achieved a combined auto export volume of 911,000 vehicles, which grew 10.9% compared to the same period last year.

In the past month, among the top ten auto export companies in China, Chery stayed in the lead with its export volume reaching 86,000 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 9% and accounting for 19.6% of the country's total volume. Compared to the same period last year, BYD realized the biggest growth with 71,000 vehicles shipped overseas, which tripled from the year-ago period.