Chinese media outlet Global Times (Huanqiu.com) published an article on the 12th titled "Japan's Automotive Industry, 'Difficult to Find an Alternative to China'."

According to the article, for the past few decades, joint venture brands have held a dominant position in China's automotive market, but this structure is now rapidly collapsing. Since the beginning of this year, the share of joint venture brands has continued to decline, with Japanese brands showing a particularly significant drop.

A man who has served as a sales manager at several joint venture brand 4S stores (stores that handle complete vehicle sales, parts acquisition, service provision, and information collection and feedback) stated, "Previously, I never worried about the sales of Toyota or Honda cars," adding that the current situation is completely different.

According to him, the number of customers coming to the store to see cars has visibly decreased, and many customers inquire about the availability of new energy vehicles. Furthermore, comparisons are made with Chinese brands such as BYD and XPeng, and customers reportedly leave the store quickly if a competitive model cannot be presented.

The article explained that "the latest market data supports this situation," stating, "Toyota Motor's new car sales in China in May were about 32% lower year-on-year, at 102,300 units. Honda's situation is even more severe, almost halving year-on-year to 28,300 units." It then introduced the view of Chinese automotive expert Jia Xinguang, who stated, "The shrinking share of Japanese cars in the Chinese market is not a temporary phenomenon."

According to Jia, the share of Japanese cars in China reached 23.1% in 2020 but dropped to 9.67% in 2025. Meanwhile, Chinese brands already accounted for 69.5% in the same year. Jia also pointed out that "in the era of electrification and smartification, approximately 70% of the technology accumulated in Japan's internal combustion engine vehicle industrial chain cannot be utilized in other fields, which is why Japanese manufacturers fell behind in responding to new energy vehicles."

Meanwhile, U.S. Yahoo Finance recently quoted an analysis by a professor at the University of Birmingham Business School, reporting that "many Japanese brands achieved enormous success in the international market in an era when product reliability was key to competitiveness. However, as quality has improved globally, Japan's strengths in this regard have become less prominent."

The article further noted that "as Japanese brands' sales in China shrink, a seemingly contradictory phenomenon is occurring where Japan's automotive industry, far from moving away from China, is actually strengthening its ties with China at a deeper level," mentioning movements such as parts procurement and research and development in China, and vehicle exports from China.

It also stated that "the strategy of 'In China, for China, to the world' advocated by some Japanese brands has two meanings: remaining in China, the world's largest market, and leveraging the technology, products, development speed, and cost competitiveness of China's automotive industrial chain to re-export to the global market."

According to the article, as Japan's automotive industry searches for new growth engines worldwide amid the fierce changes in the Chinese market and rising geopolitical risks, India has been reported as a strong candidate. However, the aforementioned Jia is negative about this.

Jia stated, "The power structure in the Indian market is already solidified, and barriers to new entry are high," and "The stability of India's business environment is far inferior to that of China." As a further important point, he cited that new car sales in India in 2025 were less than a quarter of those in China. Jia also reportedly expressed the view that "the scale of the Chinese market, the completeness of its supply chain, the speed of technological innovation, and the strength of policy support cannot be replaced even by combining multiple other markets." (Translation/Editing: Noya)