There are currently about 150 active automobile brands in the China, the country with the largest automotive industry in the world. Among them are 97 Chinese domestic brands and 43 joint venture (JV) brands. Until 2010, the traditional "Big Four" were the major state-owned car manufacturers: SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng and Changan. Other Chinese car manufacturers, both from public and private sectors, like Geely, BAIC, BYD, Chery, GAC, Great Wall, JAC and Seres, emerged as the major players with the expansion of the Chinese automotive industry.

Major manufacturers and brands

Central state-owned manufacturers Central state-owned manufacturer refers to manufacturers directly owned by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) of the People's Republic of China. Currently, FAW, Dongfeng and Changan are owned and controlled by the Central Government. According to the civil service ranks of China, the central government controlled state-owned enterprises are ranked as Sub-Ministerial-Level Enterprise. FAW (China First Automobile Works Group Corporation, ) is a central state-owned automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Changchun which is directly under the control of the central government of China. Founded on 15 July 1953, it is the oldest car manufacturer of the People's Republic of China. Currently FAW sells products under their brands including Hongqi, Jiefang, Bestune and Yueyi. FAW also operates joint ventures with Toyota, Volkswagen and Audi. Dongfeng (Dongfeng Motor Corporation, ) is a central state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wuhan, Hubei, which is directly under the control of the central government of China. Originally known as Second Automobile Works when it was founded in 1969, FAW and SAW were the two major manufacturers before the reform and opening up of China. It currently owns Voyah, M-Hero, Aeolus, Forthing, Dongfeng Nammi and operates joint ventures including Cummins, Honda, Nissan, Infiniti, and Stellantis (PSA Peugeot Citroën). Changan (China Changan Automobile Group, ) is a central state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Chongqing. It is the oldest automobile manufacturer in China, and can be traced back to 1862 during the Qing Dynasty. Changan designs, develops, manufactures and sells passenger cars sold under the Changan Auto, Deepal, Avatr and Kaicene brands. Changan operates joint venture companies Ford and Mazda.China rolls out own hybrid car reuters.com, Sat December 15, 2007 1:44am EST

Local state-owned manufacturers Local state-owned manufacturers refers to manufacturers owned by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of local governments (instead of the State Council). Most local government-controlled manufacturers are ranked as Bureau-Director Level Enterprise or even lower level. SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, ) is a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai. It is controlled by the municipal government of Shanghai. SAIC sells vehicles under a variety of brands including IM, Rising Auto, Maxus, MG, Roewe, Wuling, Baojun, and Yuejin. Joint venture brands include Buick, Chevrolet, Iveco, Volkswagen, and Audi. GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Corporation, ), is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Guangzhou and controlled by the municipal government of Guangzhou. GAC sells passenger cars under the Trumpchi, Aion, and Hyptec brands and operates foreign joint ventures with Honda and Toyota. BAIC (Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. , ), is a state-owned enterprise located in Beijing and controlled by the municipal government of Beijing. Its owns the brands of Arcfox, Beijing, Beijing Off-road, and Foton. It has foreign joint ventures with Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz. JAC (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corporation, ) is a state-owned enterprise based in Hefei, Anhui Province, and controlled by the Provincial Government of Anhui. It owns the brands of JAC Motors, JAC Yiwei, JAC Refine, and collaborates with Huawei under the Maextro brand.

State-private mixed ownership manufacturer

Chery (Chery Automobile, ), previous state-owned automobile manufacturer based in Anhui and controlled by the municipal government of Wuhu. It was restructured into a state-private mixed ownership manufacturer in 2025. It sells cars under the Chery, Exeed, Jetour and iCar brands. It also has a foreign joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover for the production of Jaguar and Land Rover cars in China. Seres (Seres Group, ), is one of the first state-private mixed ownership manufacturer in China. Headquartered in Chongqing, it is currently co-owned by the founder's family, the state-owned company Dongfeng and municipal government of Chongqing. It used to be famous for producing light commercial vehicles and budget passenger vehicles but is transforming to produce premium electric vehicles starting in 2021, after partnering with Chinese tech giant Huawei. It owns the brands of Seres, AITO, Fengon, and DFSK.

Notable privately owned manufacturers

BYD (BYD Auto, ), is an automobile manufacturer based in Shenzhen, founded by BYD Company which are known for their batteries. It is currently the largest electric vehicle manufacturer of the world. It operates brands such as BYD, Denza, Fangchengbao, Yangwang, and Linghui. Geely (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, ), is one of the biggest privately owned automobile manufacturers and is headquartered in Taizhou, Zhejiang. Currently one of the fastest growing automotive groups in the world, Geely is known for its ownership of the Swedish luxury car brand Volvo Cars, its performance counterpart Polestar, and the British sports car company Lotus. It also owns the brands of Geely, Livan, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, Volvo Cars, LEVC, Farizon, Ji Yue, Proton and Smart. GWM (Great Wall Motor, ), is a private company famous for manufacturing SUVs headquartered in Baoding, Hebei. GWM sells vehicles under the brands of Haval, Wey, Tank and Ora. It operates a joint venture called Spotlight Automotive with BMW Group to produce Mini brand electric cars. Leapmotor (Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, ) is an EV manufacturer founded in 2015, headquartered in Hangzhou. Stellantis acquired a 20% stake in Leapmotor in 2023. Li Auto (Beijing Car And Home Information Technology, ) is a manufacturer founded in 2015. It specializes in developing and manufacturing premium range-extender electric vehicles and has rapidly grown into a major player in the Chinese automobile market. XPeng (Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, ) is an EV manufacturer founded in 2014 and headquartered in Guangzhou. Together with Nio and Li Auto, it is one of the first EV companies in China. Volkswagen Group acquired a 5% stake in XPeng in 2023. Xiaomi Auto (Xiaomi Automobile Co., Ltd, ) is the subsidiary of Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi that produces EVs. It was founded in 2021 in Beijing and launched its first product, the Xiaomi SU7, in 2024. Xiaomi is currently the only Chinese tech company that is directly involved in automotive manufacturing. Nio (Shanghai Nio Automobile, ) is an EV manufacturer founded in 2014 and headquartered in Shanghai. The company is noted for its battery-swapping stations and premium EV. The company launched an entry-level brand, Onvo, and the high-end brand Firefly in 2024. +Chinese major state-owned automobile groups global sales (joint venture brands excluded)YearCentral state-ownedLocal state-ownedState-private mixed ownedHIMAFAWDongfengChanganSAICGACBAICJACCherySeres20101,038,290607,0681,239,9901,424,51345,065682,895442,547750,456226,198–2011907,337654,9911,025,2331,433,38744,056664,812466,459729,497243,0532012718,327611,4461,053,6451,659,97371,505683,991448,813653,476202,9912013723,969709,4701,152,5371,884,112124,001866,994495,737561,062205,0192014627,006715,3441,363,4872,051,240146,694864,783446,802570,718277,0002015505,849690,5311,504,9362,272,961207,890827,170588,052575,108275,3162016505,711779,2981,682,7412,533,586375,723988,109643,342682,474381,6362017572,862810,4071,597,5432,811,224508,797837,129510,892604,708400,0382018543,986664,3131,270,1002,957,136535,323701,754462,477752,759347,8372019589,832661,5851,331,8022,621,117384,792743,614421,241747,806325,3812020779,403725,4751,503,6042,575,775353,597790,241456,125731,117273,5902021846,803819,1721,754,7072,845,309447,207760,476524,224961,926266,6142022555,406743,0321,874,5692,779,123633,704570,681500,4011,232,727267,24676,1802023732,328671,7022,097,7942,804,845886,508821,033592,4991,881,316253,18195,2792024813,632765,2422,226,4892,429,925789,475872,362403,0942,603,916497,008444,9562025940,080866,7342,468,1972,948,518613,5631,070,000384,0712,806,393516,860589,107 +Chinese major privately owned automobile groups global salesYearPrivately ownedGeelyBYDGWMLeapmotorXPengLi AutoNioXiaomi2010425,194521,761415,779–– –––2011857,006454,676518,9652012905,083462,512672,2342013979,691514,188803,4492014878,818446,329767,82520151,025,287451,868871,31520161,333,077510,1571,086,63920171,938,057421,1581,085,65420182,276,846528,2981,072,52948211,34820192,194,145467,9601,097,4511,00016,6081,00020,56520202,150,134431,4471,111,59810,26627,04133,45743,72820212,189,409749,3251,280,99343,12198,15590,49191,42920222,312,6131,881,6691,067,523111,168120,757133,246122,48620232,790,0003,024,4171,230,704144,155141,601376,030160,03820243,336,5344,272,1451,233,292251,207190,068500,508221,970135,00020254,116,3214,602,4361,323,672596,555429,445406,343326,028410,000

Foreign manufacturers

Following the reform and opening up, from 1994 to 2018, Chinese automotive policy mandated that foreign carmakers had to establish joint ventures with a Chinese counterpart to produce vehicles in the country, with the Chinese partner owning at least 50% of the venture. This measure was implemented to protect local manufacturers and provide it with the chance to bridge the technology gap and develop their brands.

On April 17, 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China announced that foreign ownership limits on automakers would be phased out over a five-year period. On 28 July 2018, China lifted foreign ownership restrictions on new energy vehicle production, which benefited American electric car manufacturer Tesla, Inc. The company established a plant in Shanghai, becoming the first foreign automaker to open a wholly owned manufacturing facility in China. The liberalization was followed by commercial vehicles in 2020 and passenger cars in 2022. The rule prohibiting foreign automakers from setting up more than two joint ventures in China was also lifted in 2022. Therefore, it became legally possible for foreign automakers to buy out local partners from joint ventures. In 2022, BMW and Volkswagen had acquired 75% stake in their joint ventures.

Current foreign manufacturers

Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai (Tesla is the first 100% foreign-owned car manufacturer in mainland China) Toyota Lexus Shanghai (second 100% foreign-owned car manufacturer in mainland China) BMW BMW China (former 50–50 joint venture with Brilliance Auto Group, a majority 75% stake was acquired by BMW in 2022) (Defunct) Zinoro (2013–2020) Volkswagen Volkswagen Anhui (former 50–50 joint venture with JAC, a majority 78.52% stake was acquired by Volkswagen in 2020) Audi-FAW NEV (Audi AG and Volkswagen Group hold 60% majority of stake)

Defunct foreign manufacturers Ford Beyond (2022–2026, JMC Ford Technology, Ford held 65.32% majority of stake indirectly)Ford holds 32% of Jiangling Motors, Jiangling Motors holds 51:49 with Ford in Jiangling Ford. Thus Ford holds 65.32% of Jiangling Ford indirectly.

Full list

Major domestic manufacturers and marques CompanyMarques and subsidiariesForeign-branded JVsCentral state-owned manufacturersFAW Hongqi Jiefang Bestune Yueyi FAW-Toyota