Korean media: For the first time in 16 years, below 600,000 units, luxury cars from Europe and the US are no longer popular in China!
On February 4, the Korean media "Seoul Economic Daily" published an article stating that last year, the number of imported cars into China decreased by 30% compared to the previous year. As electric vehicles dominate the domestic market in China, they are squeezing the market share of European and American luxury cars, which, despite high prices, have maintained high popularity. Therefore, it is expected that the annual car import volume in China will fall below 600,000 units for the first time in 16 years.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to November 2025, the sales of imported cars in China fell by 30% to 447,000 units. Based on this, it is likely that the total sales of imported cars in the whole year will be around 500,000 units.
Looking at the countries of origin, the sales of German and American cars have declined significantly. The sales of German cars dropped by 46% to about 90,000 units, mainly due to weak sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz groups. Sales of American cars also plummeted by 53% to about 40,000 units.
In China, imported cars, as luxury cars, were particularly favored by the wealthy class and were once very popular. However, with the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market, including pure electric and hybrid vehicles, this advantage has become unsustainable. In fact, in 2025, new energy vehicles accounted for more than 50% of passenger car sales in China. At the same time, gasoline cars still account for about 80% of imported passenger cars.
Price factors are also considered one of the reasons for the decline in sales of imported cars. Chinese companies are increasing their market efforts by continuously launching low-cost electric vehicles, which has lowered the average price of the entire automotive market, including gasoline cars, leading to a shift in demand towards domestically produced cars with relatively higher price competitiveness.
At the same time, driven by strong domestic demand for new energy vehicles, China is accelerating the production and export expansion of new energy vehicles. From January to November 2025, China's automobile production reached 31 million units, an increase of 10% year-on-year, of which about 20% was used for exports. Last year, China's automobile exports are expected to reach 7 million units, up 20% year-on-year, making it the world's largest automobile exporter.
However, the United States is cautious about the market expansion of Chinese companies and has actually stopped importing Chinese electric vehicles. The European Union will also impose tariffs of up to 45.3% on Chinese pure electric vehicles starting in October 2024. To avoid the tariff burden, Chinese automakers are seeking new solutions, such as expanding overseas production in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Hungary, and Turkey.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856178873808203/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.