China’s automobile sector posted record revenue of RMB 11.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion) in 2025, up 7.1% year-on-year, while profit growth failed to keep pace, sinking to a record monthly low of 1.8% in December 2025, dragging the full-year average to just 4.1%, reports Caixin. This is according to data released Tuesday by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), citing the National Bureau of Statistics. Last year’s 4.1% profit margin fell below the 5.9% average across China’s industrial sector and extended a decline from the 2014 peak of 8.99%. The only worse month was April 2022, when strict Covid-19 lockdowns drove margins down to 0.7%. NEV production jumped 25% to 16.52 million units in 2025, while output of internal combustion engine vehicles shrank 1% to 18.25 million.