Posted on 12/19/2025 8:34:02 PM PST by Red Badger
Bar chart showing the world’s best selling car brands in H1 2025
World’s Best Selling Car Brands in H1 2025
Key Takeaways
* Toyota remains the world’s best selling car brand, reaching 4.7 million units in the first half of 2025.
* BYD saw the fastest growth among major automakers and is projected by industry experts to overtake Ford by the end of 2025.
Global car sales continue to shift as legacy brands defend their share against fast-growing electric vehicle makers. In the first half of 2025, Toyota again led the global market by a wide margin, while several Asian automakers held strong positions across the top 15.
This visualization highlights how each automaker performed, comparing unit sales with annual growth rates.
A notable trend is the rise of Chinese manufacturers, especially BYD and Geely, which are expanding both domestically and internationally. Their rapid growth contrasts with declines seen among several established brands in Europe and Japan.
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from industry analyst Felipe Munoz, who compiles official manufacturer sales results and estimates for global light-vehicle markets. The numbers include both internal combustion and electric vehicles.
Toyota’s Dominant Global Lead
Toyota sold more than double the units of most competitors, reaching 4.73 million vehicles in H1 2025. This represents 6% year-over-year growth, reinforcing Toyota’s strength across markets from North America to Asia. Despite ongoing industry electrification, Toyota’s broad lineup and global production scale continue to support its leadership position.
BYD’s Rapid Climb Up the Rankings
BYD ranked fourth globally with just over 2 million units sold, but posted an impressive 31% annual increase, far outpacing every other major brand. At its current trajectory, industry experts expect BYD to surpass Ford by the end of 2025.
This momentum reflects China’s booming EV sector as well as BYD’s aggressive international expansion, particularly in Europe and Latin America.
Mixed Performance Across Legacy Automakers
Several established brands experienced declines, including Honda, Nissan, Mercedes, and Audi, each posting drops between 2% and 7%. European luxury brands also ceded share as demand softened in key markets. Meanwhile, Hyundai, Kia, and Chevrolet saw modest growth.
We are delighted with our Tesla Model Y. As far as I am concerned, if it isn’t a Tesla, it’s just a car.
That is a fantastic endorsement. You should send what you wrote to Toyota. It would probably make their engineers’ day, if not their year.
Our stable has: 2015 Acura, 2018 Toyota Sequoia, 2013 Honda CRV and two antique VW beetle convertibles.
All of our modern vehicles stay out of the shop and I can still work on and get parts for the old VW’s.
I test drove both the Honda and Toyota, and found the Toyota to be more user friendly in the interior.
I liked the bigger knows and simpler controls. I could do more things without looking than I found necessary on the comparable Honda.
I am on my third Tacoma.
88, 99, 2012 currently has 124K.
I thought about buying a new one but I don’t want a truck with a 4 cylinder turbo.
So, I bought a 2011 Lexus IS350C convertible V6 3.5 liter that has 46k miles.
I am starting to look for a 2015 Tacoma double cab long bed.
Which is what the 2012 is too.
IMHO this version of the Tacoma is the best truck they ever made.
2015 is the last year they made it prior to changing the transmission.
There are occasionally low mile ones around.
There is one in MA to my south with only 55K miles.
A one owner truck.
It is White.
Not my favorite color.
They are asking 24k for it.
It looks brand new.
WOW!!!
Yes, thank God for good design and quality build. It shows it CAN be done.
I’m actually surprised Tata didn’t make the list, given their home market.
I bought the Genesis because my aerospace engineer son bought one. I figured if he thought it measured up to his standards it must be good.
Thanks for the story. I’m glad your son came out OK.
I had a black 2015 4x4, extra cab. I loved that truck!
Tesla built 1,120,209 cars in 2025, in Q3 produced 447,450 and delivered 497,099 cars. Musk is a white supremacist racist sexist right-wing extremist (/jk), so the search hits were mostly MDS talking points. Finding this one from a Eurotrash source surprised me.
As one may recall, angry Demwits and other leftists vandalized Tesla vehicles during the DOGE operations, and that kind of typical left-wing lawlessness is bound to have had an impact on sales. Anecdotally, even here in Michigan, which has franchise laws, Tesla sedans are becoming more common. Some of the Meijer fueling stations have Tesla charging stations as well as one or perhaps two alternative systems of that kind.
The 2025 figure is a falloff from TSLA’s record 2023 year (1.7 million), and the September sales got a boost because of the deadline for EV credits. I’m not sure where that applies, since AFAIK Tesla’s sales outgrew federal eligibility years ago. State credits are or were available here and there; when GA ended their program a few years ago, there was a similar bulge in sales, then a temporary falloff, then sales increased to earlier levels.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/choosing/tesla-data-statistics-and-projections/
How to tell if a country is a sh*thole country: it does not produce any cars. I’m surprised a Communist country like China is in the game but the Chinese in spite of that have a long history of a high trust culture.
Love my new VW.
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