In 2025, the joint venture car company Changan Ford, which once had annual sales of nearly one million vehicles, saw its retail sales drop below 100,000 vehicles, hitting the red line of survival for car companies. Additionally, foreign car companies such as Porsche and Nissan also saw their sales in 2025 slashed compared to peak periods.
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association quoted by Car Master, Changan Ford’s wholesale sales volume in China from January to December 2025 was 121,500 vehicles, with retail sales of 99,400 vehicles. Compared to the brand’s sales of 247,000 vehicles in 2024, both of these figures have significantly declined, indicating a sharp drop in Changan Ford’s sales after falling below 200,000 vehicles in 2019.
At the China Electric Vehicle Hundred People Forum (2026) media communication meeting, a report released by the forum’s research institute revealed that the probability of multinational car companies with annual sales of less than 100,000 vehicles exiting the Chinese market is over 80%, with an estimated 5 to 6 companies expected to do so.
The threshold of 100,000 vehicles per year is generally considered a key critical point for the scale of automotive sales in the industry. Falling below 100,000 vehicles signifies a warning signal for research and development costs, manufacturing costs, and production capacity utilization.
Changan Ford is a joint venture established in 2001 by Changan Automobile and Ford Motor Company, each holding a 50% stake. In 2016, its annual sales soared to 957,000 vehicles. However, starting from 2017, Changan Ford’s sales declined for three consecutive years, shrinking to 184,000 vehicles by 2019, with its market share gradually being squeezed.
In 2024, Changan Ford introduced new models such as the new Mondeo and Edge L, leading to a slight increase in sales to 247,000 vehicles, momentarily halting the downward trend. However, this was short-lived as sales collapsed again in 2025.
Furthermore, in 2025, Nissan China and Porsche also saw a significant drop in sales in China from their peak levels.
Recently, Nissan China released its 2025 sales data, stating that its total annual sales for the year were approximately 653,000 vehicles, a decrease of 6.26% compared to the previous year, and a nearly 60% drop from the peak in 2018.
Official data shows that Nissan China’s sales from 2018 to 2025 were 1.564 million, 1.547 million, 1.457 million, 1.382 million, 1.045 million, 794,000, 697,000, and 653,000 vehicles, respectively.
Porsche’s official data released recently indicated that the company’s global sales in 2025 were approximately 279,000 vehicles, a 10% decrease compared to the previous year, marking the largest decline since the global financial crisis of 2009. Among them, Porsche’s sales in the Chinese market were about 42,000 vehicles, a 26% drop compared to the previous year, representing a nearly 60% decline from the peak in 2021.
In the past three years, more than 10 car companies have exited the Chinese market or undergone bankruptcy restructuring, including once popular foreign or joint venture brands such as GAC Mitsubishi and GAC Fiat.