According to the data of the General Administration of Customs compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the total import and export volume of China’s automobile products reached US$25.06 billion in May 2025, an increase of 8.5% from the previous month and 3.2% from the previous year. Among them, the import amount was US$4.38 billion, which increased by 18.4% from the previous month, but decreased by 25% from the previous year; while the export amount was US$20.67 billion, an increase of 6.6% from the previous month and an increase of 12.2% from the previous year.
Domestic cars
From the overall situation in the first five months of this year, the total import and export volume of automobile products in China was US$107.73 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%. Specifically, the import amount was US$17.66 billion, a sharp year-on-year decrease of 32.4%; while the export amount was US$90.07 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%.
It is worth noting that in the first five months of 2025, the number of imported cars in China was only 180,000, a year-on-year decrease of 33%, indicating a significant shrinkage of the imported car market.
In particular, in May, the number of imported cars was 47,000, a year-on-year decrease of 25%, but it rebounded from the previous month, increasing by 9%.
Looking back at historical data, since the peak of imported cars reached 1.43 million in 2014, the market began to enter a downward channel. Although it stabilized slightly between 2016 and 2017, the imported car market has continued to decline since 2018.
The annual import volume in 2024 has dropped sharply to 700,000, a decrease of 12% from the previous year. At present, the shrinking pressure of the imported car market is still huge.
