China’s 2025 auto industry moves toward internal consolidation amid intensifying competition
In 2025, major Chinese automakers will increasingly shift from broad multi‑brand expansion to internal consolidation and strategic integration, in response to a rapidly evolving market characterized by intensifying competition, rising cost pressures, and slowing growth in incremental demand. Several leading organizations publicly restructured brands, business units, and organizational systems to enhance operational efficiency and competitive positioning, according to Sina.
One of the most prominent examples was Geely Automobile Holdings’ completion of the privatization and merger of Zeekr Intelligent Technology. On December 22, 2025, Geely announced that Zeekr had been formally integrated as a wholly‑owned subsidiary and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Geely stated that it would leverage this consolidation to strengthen strategic synergies and scale across product development, manufacturing, and sales channels.
The move marked a sharp departure from earlier years when many Chinese OEMs created or acquired multiple distinct brands to compete in segmented markets. Geely’s integration reunited key GEELY‑related passenger brands, including Geely proper, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr, under tighter centralized management, effectively dissolving the former multi‑brand fragmentation and concluding its prior expansion phase. The group’s executive leadership framed the consolidation as a response to intensifying competition and structural market changes requiring greater internal alignment.
The rationale for this consolidation was echoed earlier in the year when Geely’s leadership described its “One Geely” integration strategy as essential to eliminate redundant costs, enhance R&D productivity, and sharpen competitive focus. According to internal estimates cited by company executives, tighter coordination was expected to deliver significant savings in technology development, marketing, administration, and procurement.
The Geely case was emblematic of a broader industry pattern. Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) also announced structural reforms in late 2025, reorganizing its Aion and Haobo new energy brands into a consolidated business unit (BU), with the staged integration of sales and distribution channels expected to be completed by early 2026. GAC described this as part of a broader effort to streamline operations and unify strategy across its independent brands.
SAIC Motor, China’s largest automaker by volume, also pursued structural integration in 2025. The company consolidated several internal business units and optimized cross-brand operations across its passenger vehicle, NEV, and commercial vehicle segments. SAIC emphasized resource sharing, technology coordination, and centralized R&D management as part of its strategy to strengthen competitiveness and streamline operations amid a more challenging market environment.
Industry observers noted that this wave of internal integration extends beyond individual headline actions to a general trend among China’s top OEMs. As the era of rapid incremental demand growth in passenger vehicles and new energy vehicles (NEVs) gives way to a more competitive landscape, automakers are prioritizing resource concentration, streamlined operations, and scale synergies over brand proliferation.
In parallel, broader market data underlined the competitive pressures facing manufacturers. In late 2025, market statistics indicated that established players such as BYD continued to lead the passenger NEV market, holding a dominant share, while other domestic brands sought to maintain or increase volumes amid rising competition and shrinking margins.
Part of the consolidation logic reflects broader expectations of market rationalization. Industry trend analyses have suggested that, despite the proliferation of new brands over recent years, with dozens of independent NEV brands emerging, the long‑term market structure may consolidate around a smaller set of larger, integrated players, as scale economies and brand strength become more decisive factors.
Financial performance trends from major groups also provide context for these strategic shifts. In 2025, Geely reported significant growth in NEV sales and revenue, with its electrified portfolio exceeding prior volumes and contributing to increased profitability in the first half of the year. Its integration strategy was associated with efforts to enhance global competitiveness and product-mix efficiency while maintaining a strong presence across mainstream, high‑end, and luxury segments.
Executives across the industry have publicly framed internal consolidation as a means to respond to an environment in which price competition, technological upgrades, and supply chain optimization are placing heightened operational demands on manufacturers. As government policies and market dynamics continue to shape the NEV and broader automotive sectors, companies that consolidate resources are positioning themselves to manage development costs better and intensify their focus on key technologies such as electrification and autonomous driving.
Overall, 2025 appears to mark a turning point in China’s automotive industry, in which internal brand and BU integration take precedence over external expansion, reflecting a recalibration of corporate strategy toward sustainable scale and competitive resilience in a maturing market.
