Workers assemble a new-energy vehicle at a manufacturing plant in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, on December 24, 2025. Photo: VCG

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Wednesday that the country's new-energy vehicle (NEV) sales are expected to reach 19 million units in 2026, a rise of 15.2 percent year-on-year, while vehicle exports are expected to rise 4.3 percent to 7.4 million units, demonstrating the strong fundamentals of China's automobile sector.

The overall performance of China's automobile industry has exceeded expectations, especially in the domestic market, showing the strong consumption potential of Chinese car buyers, Wu Shuocheng, a veteran auto industry analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The CAAM released its outlook at a press conference on Wednesday, where it also unveiled record-breaking 2025 vehicle production and sales. China's auto production and sales remained the world's largest for the 17th consecutive year in 2025, with new car sales accounting for more than 50 percent of the total volume, said the association. 

In 2025, China's vehicle production reached 34.531 million units, while sales totaled 34.40 million, representing year-on-year increases of 10.4 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively. 

The sector also demonstrated strong resilience in foreign trade, with exports surpassing 7 million units, a new high. NEV exports doubled year-on-year to 2.615 million, official data showed.

An official of the CAAM attributed the unexpectedly strong growth in 2025 to the intensified implementation of China's large-scale renewals of equipment and trade-ins of big-ticket consumer goods, policies that focused on large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins. Notably, the CAAM's data showed that Chinese-brand passenger vehicles captured nearly 70 percent of the domestic market, up 4.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the CAAM, said that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China's auto industry achieved breakthroughs across multiple dimensions. Annual production and sales remained above 30 million units for three consecutive years, industry operating revenue exceeded 10 trillion yuan (1.43 trillion), and exports climbed to the first place globally, according to a report by CCTV News. 

Chen added that the accelerated integration of electrification, intelligence, and internet connectivity has created a structural competitive edge, positioning China's automotive industry at the forefront of the world.

Wu said that NEVs will remain a major driver of the growth of China's automobile industry in 2026. "Even amid heightened uncertainty in global markets, China's automotive industry has demonstrated greater resilience, with a stronger capacity to withstand economic cycles and fluctuations."