Toyota leads global sales, but Chinese brands overtake Japanese in Europe

Toyota remains the world's largest automaker with 11.3 million vehicles sold between 2020 and 2025, ahead of Volkswagen's 9 million, according to F&L Tools data Source: larepublicaco. However, Chinese manufacturers like BYD are rapidly gaining ground, with BYD selling 4.6 million units in the same period, placing it seventh globally and outpacing traditional brands like Honda, Suzuki, and Nissan Source: larepublicaco.

European shift

In a historic milestone, Chinese automakers outsold Japanese brands in Western Europe for the first time in the second quarter of 2025. Chinese firms registered 352,098 vehicles (10.7% market share), edging past Japanese brands' 350,186 units, according to Schmidt Automotive Research Source: elespanol. This marks a doubling of Chinese sales year-over-year and a 2.1 percentage point market share gain Source: elespanol. However, over the full first half of 2025, Japanese manufacturers still lead with 869,428 units versus Chinese 791,958, a gap of 77,470 vehicles Source: elespanol. European automakers continue to lose ground, with their combined market share falling to 65.1% in H1 2025, and Volkswagen's share dropping to 25.6% Source: elespanol.