The Chinese Domestic Auto Market: Outselling but Outearned by European Rivals

According to the latest report from Sina Finance, as cited by CarnewsChina, BYD maintained its top position in China’s automotive sales ranking for 2024, outperforming its competitors in both unit sales and market share. With an average selling price of approximately 121,000 NDT (equivalent to 16,700 USD) per vehicle, BYD successfully generated revenues of over 420.7 billion NDT (58.1 billion USD) in the past year.

It is also the only domestic automotive brand to make it into the top 5 highest-revenue automakers in the country during this period.

Following BYD in the ranking is Mercedes-Benz, which had a less successful year in China, selling only 710,000 vehicles. In comparison to Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz sold three times fewer vehicles but commanded a higher price point, resulting in revenues of 307.9 billion NDT (41.9 billion USD) in 2024, securing its second position.

Volkswagen recorded revenues of 42.9 billion USD over the 12-month period. Notably, Audi contributed the most to this figure, with more than 660,000 vehicles sold and revenues of 27 billion USD in 2024.

Excluding BYD, domestic brands performed relatively modestly. Image source: CnEVpost, CarnewsChina, Geely (in order of appearance)

Toyota, Japan’s largest automaker, recorded total revenues of 36.7 billion USD in 2024, with an average vehicle price of around 23,300 USD. Despite a significant drop in sales, BMW still posted substantial revenues of 32.7 billion USD in 2024, thanks to its higher average selling price of approximately 46,900 USD per vehicle.

Domestic automakers also made their mark in the high-revenue rankings for the year in China, although they did not secure top positions. For instance, Aito and Li Auto claimed the 7th and 8th spots, respectively. Aito recorded revenues of 21.4 billion USD in 2024, while Li Auto brought in 21.1 billion USD.

The revenue rankings clearly illustrate that despite the shrinking market share of European automakers, luxury vehicles from the continent continue to hold a special appeal for Chinese consumers.

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