China has officially surpassed Japan to become the world's largest auto sales market.
On January 14, according to "RT," recently, data from S&P Global Mobility showed that China has surpassed Japan in 2025 to become the world's largest auto sales market. S&P Global Mobility pointed out that China's auto sales grew by 17% in 2025, selling 27 million vehicles, setting a new historical high.
According to data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association on January 12, the domestic sales of new cars (including passenger cars, trucks and buses) in Japan in 2025 were approximately 4.22 million units, a decrease of 4.3% year-on-year, setting a new low in 47 years. Data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that in 2025, the cumulative sales of automobiles in China reached 30.838 million units, an increase of 10.1% year-on-year. Japan is no longer the world's most popular domestic car market.
Why has Japan lost its top position in the car sales ranking? According to media and experts, the main reasons are as follows:
First, the transition to electric vehicles has been slow. For a long time, the Japanese automotive industry focused on traditional gasoline and hybrid vehicles, with relatively insufficient investment and delayed action in pure electric vehicles. When the global automobile market rapidly shifted toward electrification, Japanese automakers' layout for pure electric vehicles lagged behind, failing to meet the growing demand for new energy vehicles in the market.
Second, the level of intelligence is insufficient. Technologies such as intelligent connectivity and autonomous driving have become important development directions for modern automobiles. Japanese automobile manufacturers have made relatively slow progress in innovation and application in these areas. Their smart cockpit experience and autonomous driving functions lag behind products from some Chinese and American companies, reducing their appeal to consumers.
Third, the market competition has intensified. The automotive industries of China and South Korea have risen rapidly, achieving significant progress in the fields of new energy and intelligent vehicles. These countries' automobiles, with advantages such as high cost-effectiveness, advanced technology, and rich functions, have captured certain shares in the global market, challenging Japan's traditional market position.
What impact will this have on Japan? First, the automobile manufacturing industry is a pillar industry of Japan, providing a large number of employment opportunities and generating extensive spillover effects on related upstream and downstream industries. Losing the leading position in the automobile manufacturing industry may affect Japan's economic growth, employment levels, and export revenue.
Second, this change may accelerate the transformation of Japan's automotive industry, increasing investments and R&D efforts in areas such as electrification and intelligence, promoting industrial structure upgrading. At the same time, it may also prompt related companies to strengthen cooperation with enterprises in other fields, exploring new development models and business opportunities.
Third, the change in Japan's automotive manufacturing status will further promote the reshaping of the global automotive industry landscape. Other countries and regions' automotive industries may face more development opportunities, and market competition will become more intense, prompting the entire industry to develop towards a more diversified and innovative direction.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854293778457863/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.