Mercedes-Benz Vans Global Deliveries : 2024-2025 (Q1-Q3)

It seems an odd fit for the premium marque M-B to also have a van range but they do and it is successful. Their brief foray into pick up trucks was a spectacular flop so they retreated back to what does work for them. 

To the right are quarterly wholesale deliveries for delivery vans and vans with seating with become MPVs. 2024 was down 9% and 2025 may exceed that and that doesn't sound too good.  

 

To better understand the situation, regional figures are to the right. Total deliveries are down 13% YTD. 

Europe (without Germany) is up 17% and Asia (without China) are up 30%. North America and China have pulled things down. 70% of sales are in a combined Europe/Germany.  

Commercial vehicle vans account for nearly 83% of the volume and passenger vans 17%. The Sprinter contributed 135,000 sales, the Vito/V-Class 104,000 and the Titan/T-Class 21,000. 

M-B is to end the Titan/T-Class range in 2026 and focus on the more profitable larger vans. 

Conclusion: M-B has a strong brand image and the van range does that no harm at all. Moving away from small vans is a smart move, something the company is also doing with its car range.  

Data & photos: M-B. For passenger cars, simply click here.

Mercedes-Benz PC Global Deliveries : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

M-B has two divisions, Car and Van. Here we consider the former. How is it managing in a somewhat volatile environment?

To the right, there is a chart showing quarterly wholesale delivery figures. Quarterly volumes don't vary much at all. 

In 2024, there were slight decreases except for Q4. In 2025, the three quarters so far have all been down and increasingly so.

M-B divides model deliveries into three main categories, Entry, Core and Top End. The Entry level is where most of the decrease is occuring. As it's the least profitable, not so bad.

The Core is also down with the Top End about the same. The most profitable part of the business holding up well. Again, the best place to have it. Mercedes is moving away from lower priced models to focus on its higher margin cars to increase profitability. I never understood why they went to the lower priced end.

This adds up to an 8% drop in volume so far this year. How are the regions faring? Only the Rest is up. 

Germany is about the same, Europe (less Germany) is down ever so slightly at -2% and Asia (less China) -3%. North America is down 10% but the real negative is China. 

This is no surprise, as China has adversely affected German car companies in recent times. In the long term I think it is better to be less reliant on China.

Moving on to electric cars. The chart to the right shows the last seven quarters. They were down 9% in 2024 but up 4% YTD in 2025. 

Planning ahead for this area of the market has not been easy. Their adoption hasn't been as great as expected and has many manufacturers pulling back on how much they commit to this area, both in model development and production levels.

Overall, they are up 4% YTD 2025. Fully electric cars (BEV) are down 13% but plug in hybrids (PHEV) are up 21%, which is quite typical.

In conclusion, M-B is in the same situation as many other car makers. Volumes are down and there is a trend to move more up market. Chinese competition has arrived and even premium car makers are cautiously watching developments. 

Data & photos: Mercedes-Benz. For M-B vans, simply click here.

SAIC - GM : 2009-2025 (Q1-Q3)

SAIC and GM established a joint venture agreement to manufacture and sell cars in China. In 1999 Buick Regal cars started rolling off the assembly line. The data here picks up from 2009 with three brands being assembled by SAIC-GM. This excludes imported vehicles but that would be minimal at best. 

The 2025 figure is for nine months only but all the others 12 months. The Total column is from SAIC so is untouched. The brand volumes are from other sources and they don't always quite align with each other. They also at times vary slightly from the SAIC figure. In such cases, the Chev figure is adjusted as it is the one that is the issue.

We will briefly discuss each brand separately. 

Buick is a popular brand here. When the banks were insisting on GM reducing its number of brands, Buick was spared due to its popularity in China. Over 700,000 were assembled in 2009 and from 2015 to 2018 sales exceeded one million. 

From there, sales consistently slipped downward until 2024 when they almost halved. With three months to go in 2025, sales will surely increase if not by much.

The Excelle model (photo above) has been the biggest selling model for most of the joint venture's history. When sales ended in 2022, the Envision took over as the best selling model by default but in no way compensated for the loss of the Excelle. 

Cadillac: It played a bit part for a while then came good around 2016. The inevitable slump came in 2024 but 2025 will be better. The XTS, XT5 and currenly CT5 have been the strongest selling models. 

Chevrolet: It may surprise some that Chevrolet has never outsold Buick in China. It got close in 2014 but then lost that battle. In 2024 sales collapsed and there is no revival coming in 2025. Speculation is rife that Chevrolet will be withdrawn from the market, but there is nothing official on that.

Some popular models have been the Lova, Cruze (photo below), Monza and Cavalier. 

Data source: SAIC and others. 

Conclusion: With competition heating up in China, the SAIC-GM joint venture has been badly affected. It is rallying in 2025, so future prospects are positive despite the recent downturn in sales. 

SAIC IM Sales : 2009-2025 (Q1-Q3)

IM Motors is an electric car joint venture between SAIC and Chinese technology companies Zhangjiang Hi-Tech and Alibaba Group. IM means "Intelligence in Motion". Its Chinese name is Zhiji Motors. I'll be calling it IM here.

IM started delivering cars in late 2022 and has quickly established a range of four models with a fifth due on November 2025. The current models are the IM6 mid to large SUV, the IM5 mid to large sedan, MS7 large SUV and the L7 large sedan. The LS9 large SUV is the fifth model.

Customer reviews indicate performance, styling and features are strong points. Build and materials quality plus software glitches are at times criticised. Sales haven't been exceptional. Being a new brand trying to establish itself isn't easy with stiff competition.   

Distribution of IM cars is through either stand alone or MG dealerships. There are many premium electric brands from China as well as globally. Anyone in the market for such a vehicle is spoiled for choice. 

Data source: SAIC. Photo source: IM.

SAIC Global Sales (China Production) : 2009-2025 (Q1-Q3)

SAIC is a state owned car company with its headquarters in Shanghai. It was founded in 1955 and found much success in joint ventures with foreign car companies VW (since 1984) and GM (1988). 

It also eventually acquired MG Rover technology without the Rover name. They instead created their own similar sounding brand, Roewe (photo above). It still runs the SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre. 

So what is covered by SAIC Motor here? Roewe (commenced 2006), MG (2007) and Rising Auto (2020 - briefly as the R brand / photo below). Sales were 90,396 in 2009 and they rose substantially up to 230,020 in 2013. Then it was up and down but overall going up. 

The peak was 2023 at just under a million but then hit a speed bump the following year, down to 707,015. 2025 will see an increase as the 2025 figure to the right are for nine months. 

MG would fill the value for money base brand, Roewe is considered upper mainstream and Rising Auto as a more premium electric subbrand of Roewe. 

Lexus UK Sales : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

The registration figures are for nine months of 2025 and twelve months for 2024. Overall a solid 2025 with some models not doing too well, such as the UX and ES (photo below). The LM is well up though, on modest numbers.

The LBX (photo above) has excelled itself however. It has already passed the 2024 figure, so it will be well ahead by the time 2025 has concluded. It now accounts for 42% of total UK sales, up from 33% last year.

Lexus isn't a strong marque in Europe but it has carved out a niche for itself in the region. It does better in the UK than other major European markets. In the UK it's around 0.8% penetration, France 0.4% and Germany 0.2%. 

Data & photo source: Lexus UK.

Toyota UK Car/LCV Sales : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Toyota is the only company in the UK that provides up to date sales by model. It isn't hard to do. They deserve credit for their openness. 

Passenger cars: The 2025 figure below is for nine months compared to the 2024 figure which is for twelve months. The Yaris/Yaris GR (see above) leads the way from the Yaris Cross. Add the Aygo X and small cars are very popular for Toyota in the UK. 

The C-HR (see picture below) does well compared to the RAV4 and the Corolla keeps on delivering. The ProAce and ProAce City passenger vans are building sales nicely. 

Data & photo source: Toyota UK.

Light commercial vehicles: The Hilux is well up on 2024 and has another three months to increase its gain. The ProAce van range is sourced from Stellantis, with the large Max model a new addition to the range. Overall, 2025 already exceeds last year.

I have a liking for a car wagon being converted to a commercial van. It's not as common as it was but nice to see Toyota UK do that with the Corolla. It provides car quality driving in a commercial vehicle. 

Vinfast Sales : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Vinfast has delivered 110,362 cars in the first three quarters of the year. That already puts the brand up 13% compared to a completed 2024 and up 149% when compared to nine months of the previous year. 

What you will notice in the chart below is that Q4 2024 was a strong selling quarter, so we will have to see if 2025 can match or better that. Either way, it has already passed the 2024 total.

The company makes other forms of transport. The E-Scotter sales were 120,025 (+535%) and E-Bike 234,536 (+489%). So for those who don't want or cannot afford a car have options.

Vinfast had a net loss os $1.5 billion in H1 2025. Dividing that figure by sales brings it to -$21,000 per unit. 

It is backed by Vingroup, which gives Vinfast the ability to continue even in the loss making situation it currently sits in. Obviously it needs to remedy this as soon as possible. Expansion is expensive so the financial situation is not totally unexpected. Maybe they could slow that down. 

Most sales are no doubt domestic although the company doesn't release any export data that I was able to find. 

We do know that Vinfast has just recently opened a plant in India and others are planned.  

The range kicks off with the VF 3 (photo above - tiny SUV) which starting reaching customers in the second half of 2024. 

The VF 5 city car (photo left) came out in 2023. It was initially known as the VF e32. 

The VF 6 also was released in 2024. It's a small crossover SUV being just over 4.2 metres in length or 167 inches. 

The VF 7 (picture below) was another car released in early 2024. It's a compact crossover which in my eyes has a wagon look about it. The red car (second from top) is the VF 8 medium large crossover SUV and the first deliveries commenced in late 2022. Lastly, at the top of the page is the VF 9 large crossover SUV. Deliveries were from early 2022.

For H1 2025, Vinfast did release domestic model sales for three of its models, 23,083 VF3 units were delivered, 21,812 VF5 and 8,552 VF6. They were described as "Topping the best seller charts in H12025 in Vietnam." I presume that means the segments they were selling in. 

Summary: As the Vietnamese market isn't large enough to support the brand, exports are essential. I would imagine the company would like that to progress more quickly than it is but reputations take time to be established. 

Some customers have complained about quality issues although others seem happy with their purchase. The US was seen as an important market to enter but that could be problematic with recent tariffs potentially limiting that opportunity, as well as reliability concerns. Overall, it comes across to me as a company in too much of a hurry. 

Panamá Car & LCV Sales : 2025 (Jan-Sep)

Toyota took the lead in Panamá during 2024 and hasn't looked back. So far this year, it has taken nearly one in five sales and that is substantial in a market not protecting local manufacturers through import duties. 

Kia and Hyundai also do well but then it drops away quite sharply. Suzuki and Geely are just over the 5% share mark. Asian brands are the most popular with many new Chinese ones adding to that. 

In all, ninety brands are competing here in the passenger car and light commercial sector. Despite that, as we have seen, the big guns are still firing plenty of shots back. 

Czechia Car Sales : 2025 (Jan-Sep)

Registrations were up 17% in September and also up 6% YTD. Things are on the up, although it won't reach the heights of several years back. Not a record year but not too far off it. Not much has changed from 2024 in terms of rankings. 

Škoda shocked everyone taking top spot in its home market. OK, just kidding. Market share of 34.1% when there is no tariff protection is almost unheard of. 

I have records going back to 1993, when the Czech Rep and Slovakia went through the Velvet Divorce and it's been number one since then and no doubt well before that. It's also been top in Slovakia over the same period. 

Škoda has secured 62,000+ YTD, then after daylight comes Hyundai with 15,400 units. Toyota is third with 13,100 registrations VW next with 12,200.  

The top selling models were:

Škoda Octavia - 13,912

Škoda Kamiq - 8,715

Škoda Karoq - 8,345

Škoda Kodiaq - 8,159

Škoda Fabia - 7,541

Škoda Scala - 6,966

Hyundai i30 - 5,602

Hyundai Tucson - 4,912

Škoda Superb - 4,832

Kia Ceed - 4,466 (Picture below)

Toyota Corolla - 4,355

Dacia Duster - 3,227

MG ZS - 2,659

VW Golf 2,612

Škoda Elroq - 2,048 (Picture above)

For the 2024 article, simply click on the link below:

By brand. 

By model. 

Data source: SDA. Photos: Škoda Czechia & Kia Chechia.

Proton Malaysia Sales : 2005-2009

For the first in the series, just click 2000-04

Of the two main car brands in Malaysia, Proton was the main player going into this period but it was being chased by Perodua. In 2006, Proton sold 171,000 cars and Perodua just under 140,000. A year later Proton crashed to 105,000 units and Perodua continued upwards to 155,000. What happened?

Perodua introduced the compact Myvi hatchback in 2005, the same as the Daihatsu Sirion and it was a good car. Roomy, economical and reliable, it took the market by storm and became the top selling model for nine consecutive years. The Vivi city car also came along in 2007.

Proton's Waja and Gen-2 were on the way out so the sudden swing in sales success. Proton hit back with the second generation Persona small car in 2007 (see picture above), compact Saga in 2008 and Exora small MPV. Sales lifted while Perodua's plateaued. Still, Perodua maintained its lead, ending this period 20,000 sales ahead of Proton.  

Data Source: Govt of Malaysia. Picture source: Autoevolution. 

Porsche Global Deliveries : 2024-25 (Q1-Q3)

Volkswagen decided to sell Porsche shares to the public in 2022, Porsche reckoned its profit margins would be around 20%. Forecasts for 2025 were somewhat lower at between 5% and 7% but VW now expects its operating profit margin to fall to about 2% for 2025. This shows how quickly things can change. 

China was a profitable market for Porsche but recently it has become very competitive. Not only has volume slumped, so too profits as well. Add to that recent tariffs for cars going into the US. If that wasn't enough, electric cars are not selling as well as hoped and the new Macan is exclusively a BEV. A lot has changed since 2022. 

The chart immediately below shows regional deliveries. North America was up 5% and the Rest 3%, but Europe is down 8% and China -26%. The total is down 6%. In view of current market conditions, not a bad result. 

Models: The new EV Macan is helping things with Macan sales in total are up 18%. The older model petrol/diesel is still available and included in the data. How long it will be sold I'm unsure but a new PHEV model to replace it is expected in 2028. It will have a name change and be its own unique model.

The rest of the range is down in terms of volume. The Cayenne leads the way with a 22% drop and the 718 (Boxster/Cayman) range down 15%. Electrified vehicles constituted 35% of the total. 23% were BEVs and 12% PHEVs. 

It is hard to predict what the last three months will be like. Will North America slip back now that tariffs are in place? Are there more deliveries to lose in China, or will it stabilise? Managing a car company at this time is not easy. Decisions that allow for flexibility are essential. Who knows what's around the bend?

High Wage Car Assembly

The difference in wages paid to car assembly workers varies greatly around the world. It is true that the wage cost per car isn't that high, perhaps 5-10% in a high wage country, but there are many variables. Premium cars would be less compared to mainstream cars. 

The car industry is experiencing cost pressures. Competition is heating up with more brands vying for your patronage. China was a big earner for companies until intense competition there started eroding profits. The Chinese government has recently encouraged car companies to pull back on aggressive discounting. In addition, shipping costs have also been rising.

Where does this leave car manufacturers? It must be tempting to move production to lower wage countries. That isn't a straightforward thing with investment in plants being hugely expensive. You can't just walk away from them. But over time, the shift can be carried out.

Car makers don't want a customer backlash if they moved all their production, so they manage the balance carefully. How would VW fare if it moved all its production out of Germany? With freight costs and the logistics of sending cars long distances, there is merit in having production close to the market where the bulk of the sales will be achieved. 

Workers on high wages understandably want to protect their earnings but at what cost? Would it be worth having a wage increase freeze or even a modest cut in wages to save a plant they work at? Unlikely to impossible. 

Belgium used to be a major car manufacturer but now has only one plant in Ghent. The fact is it didn't have a local brand which made it easier for car companies to leave. Wage costs were also a factor. 

Recently, Audi closed its plant there to move production to Mexico. Why? The factory wasn't fully utilised but lower wages would also have been an incentive. 

One Audi worker who was interviewed said he would struggle to find another job that paid as well. Car assembly does seem to be a well paid job for the level of skill required. I'm not surprised finding another job at that pay rate was highly unlikely. 

Would such a worker in hindsight been prepared to take a modest pay cut to keep a job that would still be reasonably well paid? The answer would be no. Many workers in high wage countries view their remuneration as an inalienable right. Maybe it's a case of not seeing the bigger picture.

There is no easy answer to this. Margins are being squeezed and costs have to be looked at. More cooperation and cost sharing between car companies is needed. The Japanese are good at doing that.

Car assembly in high wage countries may eventually be just for premium or maybe only luxury marques. The assembly workers may need to find lower wage jobs elsewhere if they can. 

China Car Sales : 2025 (Jan-Aug)

I don't do many articles on China. Imported cars are not included in the data and that doesn't make any sense to me. For many brands it won't matter, but for some it paints a distorted picture. A few foreign brands fail to even make the chart because of that.

With the data below, 10,000 sales is the cutoff point. For the first eight months of 2025 approximately 18.34 million cars were sold here. BYD is now well ahead after taking the lead in 2023. VW had been well on top for decades and seemed invincible, but quite quickly things changed. 

VW is now far away from the top spot although and is still second, but for how long? The likes of Geely or Chery overtaking seems inevitable. Toyota is likewise losing market share along with VW and foreign brands generally.

Jaguar sales have stopped in all but a few places where they seemingly stocked up before production ended. In China they assemble Jaguars and nearly all 2025 XE and XF sales are here. They are doing a 90th anniversary XFL for a special price but only sold in China. I can't see why it couldn't have been exported to LHD markets. The interior is pictured below and it looks nice.