See Which Are The Biggest Automakers In China By Sales

Sales of Honda cars in China increased by 18.5 percent year over year. It won't be long before the U.S. is replaced as the company's strongest market - in 2017, the result was 1.42 to 1.49 million in favor of the U.S.

We know the Geely Group mainly as the owner of Volvo and British sports car company Lotus. At home, Geely's cars were able to secure a market share of over five percent for the first time. Sales increased by a whopping 61 percent.

Buick instead of Opel: that was the decision of General Motors in the 1990s for the Chinese market. Nevertheless, the local customers get a lot of Opel flair: among other models, the Buick Regal GS is actually just an Opel Insignia with a different logo.

The crossover sales in China increased particularly strongly in 2017, more precisely by 13 percent. It seems only a matter of time before SUVs in China replace the hitherto popular small sedans as the most popular segment. Toyota is one of the brands that have the strongest SUV lineup, which helped the company increase its Chinese sales by almost seven percent compared to 2016.

Our sales statistics for China include only those vehicles that are actually built in China. Imports take up only a small part, since they are extremely expensive due to import duties. Nissan, for example, is building the compact SUV Kicks (pictured) in a joint venture with Dongfeng.

2017 was not the best year for Changan, as the brand registered an eight-percent decline in sales. The company is launching a new generation of models  with European cues to improve its results.

In addition to Geely, Baojun is one of the winners among the Chinese brands. At Baojun, General Motors and SAIC (a multi-car company from Shanghai) are the main owners. Thanks to new and appealing products, such as the 510 SUV, the brand was able to increase its sales in 2017 by over 34 percent.

Haval, the SUV brand of the Chinese Great Wall group, had many misses in 2017. The sales statistics show a decline of more than nine percent last year. Originally set to become the world's number one SUV manufacturer ahead of Land Rover and Jeep, Haval is still way behind its British and American rivals.

Ford sold nearly 12 percent fewer cars in China in 2017 compared to 2016. Specially designed notchback models such as the Escort, which was recently refreshed, are no longer selling so well, as the market is shifting its attention towards SUVs.

Let's take a look outside the top ten, how the premium German automakers in China are doing. Audi has a long tradition in the People's Republic, but sales are stagnating there. With an increase of only 2.4 percent last year, Audi is now close to its main competitors, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes has a lot to be happy about in China: the brand was able to grow by more than 36 percent in 2017. Just five years ago, the brand had only 206,000 sales, which is less than half of its current volume.

Customers in China still love the small premium sedans, and BMW knows that best. It sells the front-wheel drive 1 Series there, being built in a joint venture with Brilliance. The customers reward the brand with an increase in sales of 24 percent compared to 2016.

This is just the beginning for Skoda in China: over the next five years, it plans to invest over two billion dollars to build together with its joint venture partner SAIC a number of new models. Among them are several SUVs, including the new Kamiq, which was just revealed at the Beijing Auto Show.

For Citroën, China is in constant decline: in 2003, the market share was almost five percent, while in 2010 it was only two percent. In 2017, only just under half of the previous year's volume was sold.

Things went even worse for DS last year: a drop of 64 percent to less than 6,000 sales. Models like the DS 4S or the DS5 did not meet the Chinese taste, all hopes rest now on the new DS7 Crossback.

It's no surprise that many people in China connect Porsche with SUVs, rather than sports cars Still, 71,508 vehicles from the brand were sold in 2017, an increase of 10 percent.

The old German brand Borgward made a comeback thanks to support from China. Behind Borgward is the commercial vehicle group Foton. Thanks to new models such as the BX5, Borgward was able to grow in China by almost 48 percent last year. In 2018, the BX7 (pictured) is scheduled to also be launched to international markets like Germany.

A German designer, a German boss: the Qoros brand was launched as a fresh and promising China newcomer for the domestic market. But despite the successful first vehicles, the brand, which includes Chery, is losing ground. In 2017, Qoros sold about 36 percent fewer vehicles than in 2016.

There are a total of 48 domestic car brands in China, excluding sub-brands like Lynk & Co. Under the leadership of Geely with Volvo-sourced technologies, Lynk & Co had the first (almost) full year on the Chinese market - a good start with roughly 6,000 sales.