Korean Media: 260,000 fewer vehicles, the "Big Three" German car brands face a collective downturn in China!
On February 16, Korean media "Choice Economy" published an article stating that the so-called "BBA" (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi) are considered the top three German car brands. For these three brands, 2025 has been full of challenges. Looking at global sales, only BMW saw a slight increase, while Mercedes-Benz and Audi experienced declines. In the Chinese market, the sales of these three brands all declined year-on-year.
BMW's global sales last year were 2.4637 million units, up 0.5% year-on-year, making it the only brand among the three major German automotive companies to achieve a small growth. By comparison, Audi's sales were 1.6236 million units, down 2.9% year-on-year. Mercedes-Benz sold 2.16 million units, down 10% year-on-year. Among them, core passenger vehicle sales fell 9%, reaching only 1.8 million units, marking the sixth consecutive year of decline.
As for the Chinese market alone, the sales of the three car brands all showed a year-on-year decline. BMW had the highest sales in China, reaching 625,500 units, but this was down 12.5% year-on-year. In the fourth quarter of last year, BMW's delivery volume decreased by 15.9% to 160,600 units. Mercedes-Benz sold 575,000 units in the Chinese market, a decrease of 19% compared to 714,000 units in 2024. Although this is higher than 481,000 units in 2016, it is far behind the peak of 774,000 units in 2020.
Audi's sales in China reached 617,500 units, down 5% from 649,900 units in 2024. In 2025, the sales of the three German companies in the Chinese market decreased by about 260,000 units compared to 2024.
Last year, German automakers focused on transitioning to electric vehicles. BMW expects that the global deliveries in 2025 will include 642,100 electric vehicles, up 8.3% year-on-year, accounting for 26% of the group's total sales. Mercedes-Benz's electric vehicle sales fell by 4%, accounting for 26.2% of total sales. At the same time, Audi's electric vehicle sales accounted for 13.7% of its total sales, with an 36% year-on-year increase.
Audi explained, "The weak global sales performance in 2025 is due to a combination of complex factors such as geopolitical risks, deteriorating economic conditions, fierce competition in the Chinese market, and U.S. tariff policies, all of which have affected global consumers' purchasing decisions."
An analysis pointed out that although the three major German car brands have made some progress in the global electric vehicle race, these achievements have not been replicated in the Chinese market. Chinese self-owned luxury electric vehicle brands are leading in related technological fields and continuously eroding the traditional price range of German car brands, i.e., between 300,000 to 500,000 RMB, capturing most of the replacement and new car purchase demand in the Chinese automobile market.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1857270652215492/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.