This might be the most comprehensive mid-year inventory across the entire internet.

In a blink of an eye, half of 2025 has passed, and the Chinese auto market has delivered a score that exceeded expectations.

The latest data from the Passenger Car Association shows that as of the end of June, the retail sales of narrow - sense passenger cars in China reached 10.901 million units, a year - on - year increase of 10.8%. Among them, the domestic retail market share of self - owned brands reached 64%, firmly grasping the dominance of the Chinese market.

BYD and Geely, which had a heated argument not long ago, are still neck and neck on the sales list. The former firmly held the top spot in the first half of the year with a total of 2.146 million units sold; the latter led a group of traditional automakers with a year - on - year sales growth of 47% in the first half of the year, and actively "raised the bar" by adjusting its annual sales target to 3 million units.

Looking at the new - energy vehicle startups, the pattern of the leading camp has changed. The once - famous "NIO, XPeng, Li Auto" has become "Leapmotor, XPeng, Li Auto". Leapmotor has continuously led the list of new - energy vehicle startups with a monthly sales volume of nearly 50,000 units; XPeng has been like a "cheater", selling as many cars in the first half of the year as it did in the whole of last year.

Backed by strong sales and with profitability in sight, Zhu Jiangming and He Xiaopeng exude a sense of relaxation that Li Bin and Feng Xingya envy. In a sense, both Li and Feng are going through the most difficult period in history.

In addition, the recovery of some joint - venture brands is also a highlight of the mid - year sales statistics. Brands such as FAW - Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen have achieved year - on - year positive growth, and the growth rate of FAW Toyota is as high as 16%.

NO.1 [Central and State - owned Enterprises: SAIC's Orders Soar, GAC Struggles for Survival]

Sales Volume and Target Completion Rate of Central and State - owned Enterprises in the First Half of 2025

Looking at the completion of annual sales targets first, SAIC, FAW, and Changan are in sync, with a completion rate of around 45%. According to the usual sales ratio of 45:55 between the first and second half of the year, the three companies are expected to achieve their annual targets. However, the completion rates of Dongfeng, BAIC, and GAC are all below 40%, and they face significant pressure to meet their annual targets.

In terms of the cumulative delivery volume in the first half of the year, SAIC performed the best (2.053 million units), joining BYD in the "two - million - unit club"; GAC ranked last with 755,000 units, being the only traditional automaker with a sales decline.

Sales Structure of Central and State - owned Enterprises in the First Half of 2025

Carefully analyzing the sales structure of the "national team of automakers", it is not difficult to find two major trends: First, the share of self - owned brands is expanding, and the transformation to new - energy vehicles is accelerating; second, some joint - venture brands have bottomed out and are showing a "recovery" trend.

Among the six automakers, the sales of self - owned brands of Changan, SAIC, Dongfeng, and BAIC accounted for more than half of their total sales and are showing an upward trend.

Self - owned brands were the absolute protagonists of Changan Automobile's sales in the first half of the year, accounting for more than 80%. Among them, the fuel - powered vehicles based on Changan Gravity (471,000 units) maintained stable growth; the new - energy vehicles were accelerating their rise. Changan Qiyuan's best - selling model, Qiyuan Q07, exceeded 30,000 units in monthly sales; Deepal Automobile's cumulative sales in the first half of the year reached 143,000 units, firmly holding the top spot in the new - energy vehicle sales of central enterprises; Avatr sold more than 10,000 units for four consecutive months, with a cumulative delivery of 59,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 103.4%.

SAIC, which is in the process of reform, has also witnessed a "surge in orders" for its self - owned brands. Based on Wuling, the self - owned brands contributed a cumulative sales volume of 1.304 million units in the first half of the year, a year - on - year increase of 21.2%, and the proportion of self - owned brand sales in the total sales increased to 63.5%. This means that at least in terms of volume, SAIC has got rid of its excessive dependence on joint - venture brands and entered a new stage of "self - owned brand dominance".

Dongfeng is also gradually getting rid of the "joint - venture dependence syndrome", with the sales of its self - owned brands accounting for 60% of the total. Looking at each brand, Fengshen, Yipai, and Nammi launched new products continuously in the first half of the year, with a cumulative delivery of more than 110,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 43.7%; Voyah, which achieved profitability, showed even stronger momentum, with a cumulative sales volume of 56,000 units in the first half of the year, a year - on - year growth rate of up to 85%.

The share of BAIC's self - owned brands (57%) has risen sharply, with a year - on - year growth rate of 24%, which can be attributed to two sub - brands, BAIC ARCFOX and BAIC JINGJIE. As the "No. 1 project" of BAIC's new - energy vehicle sector, ARCFOX's monthly average sales this year are around 10,000 units, while its cumulative sales in the first half of last year were only 18,000 units. BAIC JINGJIE delivered 9,703 units in the first half of this year, leading the market segments of range - extended sedans above 300,000 yuan and pure - electric sedans above 400,000 yuan.

June Sales Report of ARCFOX and BAIC JINGJIE

In contrast, joint - venture brands still account for a large part of FAW and GAC's sales, staging the classic scenario of "success and failure both due to joint - ventures".

Reversing the downward trend, some joint - venture brands showed strong recovery momentum in the first half of this year, strongly driving the development of their affiliated automotive groups. FAW is the best example. In the first half of this year, the cumulative sales of FAW Toyota and the Volkswagen brand of FAW - Volkswagen reached 378,000 units and 436,000 units respectively, with year - on - year growth rates of 16% and 3.5%, leading other joint - venture brands.

Dongfeng and GAC were not so lucky. The three joint - venture segments of the former (Dongfeng Peugeot - Citroën, Dongfeng Nissan, and Dongfeng Honda) all declined significantly in double - digits, while the latter is facing the dual dilemmas of mediocre performance of self - owned brands and declining sales of joint - venture brands.

As one of the earliest joint - venture automakers to enter the Chinese market, Dongfeng Peugeot - Citroën's cumulative sales in the first half of the year were 27,000 units, a year - on - year decrease of 28.3%.

The cumulative sales of Dongfeng Nissan (including Venucia and Infiniti) in the first half of the year were 253,000 units, a year - on - year decrease of 23.5%. Although Nissan's N7 performed outstandingly, with over 20,000 large - scale orders in 50 days after its launch, it was a drop in the bucket and could not reverse the downward trend.

Honda's crisis is even more serious. The total sales of its two joint - venture companies in the first half of the year were 315,000 units, a year - on - year decrease of more than 24%. Among them, GAC Honda's sales decreased by 25.6%, and Dongfeng Honda's sales decreased by 37.4%. Compared with 2022 (695,000 units), the sales are now less than half of that period.

It is worth noting that going global is gradually becoming the "key factor" for the new sales growth of automakers. The following is a simple analysis of the overseas performance of automakers from the two dimensions of total volume and growth rate.

As a "pioneer in going global", SAIC's overseas sales (494,000 units) accounted for nearly 25% of its cumulative sales in the first half of the year. Among them, MG, which has high brand awareness and channel advantages, delivered more than 150,000 units in the European market, ranking first among Chinese brands in terms of sales.

Changan, which has been upgraded to a central enterprise, has also entered the fast lane of going global. Its overseas sales exceeded 300,000 units in the first half of the year, a year - on - year increase of more than 45%. The CS series, which features high cost - effectiveness, led the sales.

GAC, which has been struggling in the domestic market, has also received positive signals from the overseas market. With a year - on - year sales increase of 45.6% in the first half of the year, it received 99,000 overseas orders, completing 55% of its annual overseas sales target (180,000 units).

NO.2 [Top Four Self - owned Brands: Geely Soars, Great Wall Stays Steady]

Sales Volume and Target Completion Rate of the Top Four Self - owned Brands in the First Half of 2025

There is no doubt that BYD continued to hold the top spot in sales. With a cumulative delivery of 2.146 million new cars in the first half of the year, it not only refreshed its own historical record but also left its competitors far behind.

Specifically, the Dynasty and Ocean series sold a cumulative 1.951 million units in the first half of the year, accounting for 90% of the total sales; Fangchengbao sold 61,000 units with its hardcore off - road positioning and excellent performance; Denza sold nearly 80,000 units, firmly establishing itself in the high - end market.

Its overseas performance was also quite remarkable. The overseas sales in the first half of the year exceeded 470,000 units, surpassing the whole of last year, a year - on - year increase of 132%. According to the current growth trend, BYD may soon overtake Chery to become the new "export champion".

As of now, BYD has established four overseas factories in Thailand, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Hungary and built its own fleet of eight roll - on/roll - off ships, with four of them already in operation, controlling the entire chain from production to transportation.

BYD's "Shenzhen" Sets Sail with Over 7,000 New - Energy Vehicles Bound for Brazil

Based on the annual target of 5.5 million units, BYD's completion rate is only 39%. To achieve the target, its average monthly sales in the following months need to reach an astonishing 559,000 units. However, after being interviewed by the regulatory authorities, BYD voluntarily cancelled the "time - limited fixed - price" policy. After the reduction of discounts, what new tricks will it use to stimulate sales in the second half of the year? This is undoubtedly the key point to watch in the second half of the year.

If BYD wins in terms of total volume, then Geely wins in terms of growth rate. Guided by the strategic "Taizhou Declaration", Geely's cumulative sales in the first half of this year reached 1.409 million units, a year - on - year increase of 47%. According to the original annual target of 2.71 million units, Geely's completion rate was as high as 52%, ranking first in the industry. Even calculated based on the adjusted target of 3 million units, the completion rate is still 47%, leading a group of traditional automakers.

Behind the "surge in sales" of Geely, we have to mention the success of its strategy of accelerating the transformation to new - energy vehicles while stabilizing the fuel - powered vehicle market.

Looking at the specific data, Geely's new - energy vehicles delivered a cumulative total of 725,000 units from January to June, a year - on - year increase of 126%. Among them, the Galaxy brand was the main contributor to sales, with 548,000 units sold, a year - on - year increase of 232%.

It is worth noting that currently, the proportion of Geely's new - energy vehicle sales in the total sales has exceeded 51%. This means that in the tenth year of Geely's transformation to new - energy vehicles, its products have finally entered the "new - energy - dominated period", which is in line with the current market trend.

Against the backdrop of the shrinking fuel - powered vehicle market, Geely still achieved an impressive year - on - year increase of 7% in sales, with a cumulative sales volume of 684,000 units, thanks to models such as Boyue L, Xingrui, and Xingyue L.

Similar to Geely, Chery and Great Wall also have in - depth layouts in the fuel - powered vehicle market, and the fuel - powered vehicles they delivered in the first half of the year accounted for 70% of their total sales.

Let's first look at Chery Group, the "tech - savvy" automaker. Chery and Jetour form the foundation of its fuel - powered vehicle business, with models such as Tiggo 8 and Jetour X70 being the mainstays.

While maintaining the foundation of its fuel - powered vehicles, Chery is