2025 Heavy Truck Market Report Card: Annual Sales Exceed 1.13 Million Units, Export Sales Hit Record High

In December 2025, the year-on-year growth rate of the heavy-duty truck market narrowed significantly. According to preliminary data obtained by First Commercial Vehicle Network, China's heavy-duty truck market sold approximately 95,000 units in December 2025 (wholesale basis, including exports and new energy vehicles), a decrease of about 16% compared to November 2025, but an increase of about 13% compared to the 84,200 units sold in the same month last year.

Looking at the entirety of 2025, China's heavy-duty truck market achieved nine consecutive months of growth, rising from April through December with an average growth rate as high as 41%! The December figure of 95,000 units is considered "upper-middle level" when viewed over the past eight years, being lower than the 110,000 units sold in December 2020 but slightly higher than the sales in December 2019.

Cumulatively, for the full year of 2025, the total sales volume in China's heavy-duty truck market reached a four-year high of 1.137 million units, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 26%. The sharp narrowing of the year-on-year wholesale sales growth rate by the end of 2025 was primarily due to two reasons.

On one hand, the sales volume in the same period last year was relatively high, reaching 84,200 units—this was mainly driven by the replacement of old National III standard trucks in the fourth quarter of 2024. On the other hand, stimulated by the expanded policy for replacing old National III and National IV commercial trucks in 2025, the market achieved "nine consecutive months of growth" from April 2025 onward, with annual industry sales exceeding 1.1 million units.

Most major heavy-duty truck manufacturers met their annual sales targets quite successfully. Consequently, in December, some leading manufacturers engaged in "sales hoarding," meaning they held back a portion of wholesale sales to be recorded in the first quarter of 2026 to ensure a strong start to the new year.

In December 2025, China's heavy-duty truck exports also maintained steady growth, with an estimated year-on-year increase of nearly 20%. For the full year of 2025, China's heavy-duty truck export sales are estimated to be around 330,000 units, setting a new historical record.