According to EY, shipments of European cars and components to China fell 34% to €16 billion in 2025.
Since 2022, their exports to China have more than halved. At the same time, imports from China in this sector increased by 8%, amounting to 22 billion euros, delfi.lv quoted the authors of the report with reference to Deutsche Welle.
Although exports of cars from German manufacturers still exceed imports of Chinese cars into Germany, the gap is rapidly narrowing, also follows from the EY report. Compared to the record year of 2022, exports to China have more than halved from about €30 billion to €13.6 billion.
Over the same period, car imports from China to Germany increased by two-thirds to €7.4 billion. “If such trends continue, imports and exports could equalize in 2026,” EY said in its analysis.
Competition with the Chinese car industry will intensify
According to EY expert Konstantin Gall, German car companies Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have so far successfully defended their market share, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so in the face of growing competition from China, as well as the crisis in the German automotive industry.
“In 2026, we will see a further intensification of competition. The pressure on Germany as the center of automotive production, will continue to grow,” the expert believes.
Crisis in the German automotive industry
The authors of the report also pointed out that the crisis in the German automotive industry and increased competition has already affected business last year. Thus, the revenue of the German automotive industry in 2025 fell by 1.6% to almost 528 billion euros, and the number of jobs fell by almost 50 thousand.
Now the industry employs about 725 thousand people, which is the lowest figure for the last 14 years. The crisis hit component suppliers the hardest – in this sector, revenue in 2025 fell by 4% and employment by more than 10%, according to the EY report.
