Motor vehicle production in China by year

Facts checked Newest figure published 22 January 2026

The series

Figures in vehicles, one row per year.
Year vehicles Relative size Note
2000 2,069,069 OICA country table. CAAM's own release for 2000 is not online; before 2009 OICA's China figures may differ slightly from CAAM's.
2004 5,234,496 OICA country chart (cars 2,480,231 + commercial vehicles 2,754,265). Pre-2009 OICA and CAAM classifications differ.
2005 5,717,619 OICA country table (cars 3,941,767 + commercial vehicles 1,775,852).
2006 7,188,708 OICA country chart (cars 5,233,132 + commercial vehicles 1,955,576).
2007 8,882,456 OICA country chart (cars 6,381,116 + commercial vehicles 2,501,340).
2008 9,299,180 OICA country chart (cars 6,737,745 + commercial vehicles 2,561,435).
2009 13,790,994 OICA country chart (cars 10,383,831 + commercial vehicles 3,407,163). China Daily, reporting CAAM's release of 11 January 2010, gave 13.79 million, up 48.3%. China became the world's largest vehicle producer and largest vehicle market this year.
2010 18,264,761 OICA country table; equals CAAM's 18.265 million.
2011 18,418,876 OICA country chart (cars 14,485,326 + commercial vehicles 3,933,550); equals CAAM's 18.419 million.
2012 19,271,808 OICA country table. Xinhua, reporting CAAM's release of 11 January 2013, gave 19.27 million, up 4.63%.
2013 22,116,825 OICA country chart (cars 18,084,169 + commercial vehicles 4,032,656). Xinhua, reporting CAAM's release of 9 January 2014, gave 22.12 million, up 14.76%.
2014 23,722,890 OICA country table; equals CAAM's 23.723 million.
2015 24,503,326 OICA country chart (cars 21,079,427 + commercial vehicles 3,423,899); equals CAAM's 24.503 million.
2016 28,118,794 OICA country table. CAAM's release of 17 January 2017, as quoted by MMTA, gave 28,119,000, up 14.5%.
2017 29,015,000 CAAM, up 3.2% on 2016. OICA prints 29,015,434 for the same year.
2018 27,809,000 CAAM, down 4.2% on 2017. OICA prints 27,809,196.
2019 25,720,665 OICA country table. Xinhua, reporting CAAM's release of 13 January 2020, gave output of 25.72 million, down 7.5%.
2020 25,225,000 CAAM (2,522.5 thousand-unit table, i.e. 25.225 million), down 2.0%. OICA prints 25,225,242.
2021 26,082,000 CAAM, up 3.4% on 2020. OICA prints 26,082,220.
2022 27,021,000 CAAM, up 3.4% on 2021. OICA prints 27,020,615.
2023 30,161,000 CAAM, up 11.6% on 2022; the first year above 30 million. OICA prints 30,160,966.
2024 31,282,000 CAAM, up 3.7% on 2023. OICA prints 31,281,592.
2025 34,531,000 CAAM, up 10.4% on 2024; a record. OICA prints 34,530,738.

Reading these figures

Two published series for the same year often disagree, and the reason is almost always the definition rather than an error: wholesale shipments are not retail registrations, passenger cars are not all vehicles, and what counts as a new-energy vehicle differs between publishers. The definition above is the one that applies to every number on this page.

Related

Sources for Motor vehicle production in China by year

  1. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), 2025年12月汽车工业产销情况简析 (Brief analysis of vehicle production and sales, December 2025). Read . Published 2026-01-22. Full-year 2025 production 34.531 million, sales 34.40 million, up 10.4% and 9.4%.
  2. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), 2024年12月信息发布会 (December 2024 information conference slide deck). Read . Published 2025-01-13. Full-year 2024 production 31.282 million, sales 31.436 million, up 3.7% and 4.5%.
  3. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Production of Automobiles in December 2023. Read . Published 2024-01-12. Jan–Dec 2023 total 3,016.1 (unit: 10,000 vehicles).
  4. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Production of Automobiles in December 2022. Read . Published 2023-01-12. Jan–Dec 2022 total 2,702.1 (unit: 10,000 vehicles).
  5. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Production of Automobiles in December 2021. Read . Published 2022-01-12. Jan–Dec 2021 total 2,608.2 (unit: 10,000 vehicles).
  6. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Production of Automobiles in December 2020. Read . Published 2021-01-14. Jan–Dec 2020 total 2,522.5 (unit: 10,000 vehicles).
  7. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), The automobiles witnessed stable growth. Read . Published 2018-01-23. 2017 production 29,015,000 and sales 28,879,000, up 3.2% and 3.0%.
  8. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), The growth of automobiles below expectations. Read . CAAM's annual review of 2018 (2018 production 27,809,000 and sales 28,081,000). The page carries a 2019-06-05 stamp from a site migration; the release itself was made in January 2019.
  9. International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), Production Statistics — World Motor Vehicle Production by country. Read . Country charts read for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2024 and 2025; China's cars and commercial vehicles are summed to the total.
  10. Wikipedia, List of countries by motor vehicle production. Read . Finding aid used to reach OICA's per-year China figures for 2000, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020–2023, each cited there to an OICA statistics page or PDF.
  11. Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA), The Chinese Automotive Market – Much more than just large. Read . Quotes CAAM's release of 17 January 2017: 2016 production 28,119,000 and sales 28,028,000.
  12. Xinhua, China's auto sales down 8.2 pct in 2019. Read . Reports CAAM's release of 13 January 2020: 2019 output 25.72 million, down 7.5%.
  13. China Daily, China: World's biggest auto producer, consumer. Read . Published 2010-01-12. CAAM's 2009 output of 13.79 million, up 48.3%, and sales of 13.64 million.
  14. Xinhua, via China Internet Information Center (china.org.cn), China continues to reign as world's top automaker. Read . Published 2013-01-11. CAAM's 2012 output of 19.27 million, up 4.63%.
  15. Xinhua, via China Internet Information Center (china.org.cn), China auto sales see double-digit growth. Read . Published 2014-01-10. CAAM's 2013 output of 22.12 million, up 14.76%.