In-Depth Analysis of BBA's Collective Sales Slump in China and How Domestic High-End New Energy Vehicles Are Structurally Undermining the Market Foundations of Traditional Luxury Brands

Based on the latest data and market information I have collected, I will provide you with a systematic and comprehensive analysis report.

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In 2025, BBA (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi) suffered an unprecedented overall decline in the Chinese market, with sales falling back to the level of seven or eight years ago [1][2][3].

Brand	2025 Sales in China	YoY Change	Share of Global Sales
Mercedes-Benz	575,000 units	-19.5%	26.5%
BMW	625,500 units	-12.5%	25.4%
Audi	617,000 units	-5.6%	-

Compared with historical data, BBA’s sales scale in 2025 has returned to the level of 2017-2018. Specifically, in 2018, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi sold 640,000, 674,100, and 660,900 units in China respectively, while in 2017, the figures were 594,400, 587,900, and 597,900 units respectively [2][3].

Looking at the performance of core models, the decline trend is even more severe:

• Mercedes-Benz C-Class: annual sales decreased by 35,400 units, with an average monthly sales drop of about 2,950 units
• Mercedes-Benz GLC: sales decreased by 27,400 units
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class: sales decreased by 14,700 units
• Mercedes-Benz GLB: sales decreased by 17,400 units

• Sedan series grew against the trend: 3 Series sold 11,900 more units, 5 Series sold 27,400 more units
• SUV series suffered a comprehensive collapse: X3 sold 33,400 fewer units, X1 sold 30,000 fewer units

• Audi A6L maintained its position as the champion of the luxury C-class sedan market with 172,000 units sold
• Audi Q5L sold 140,000 units throughout the year, retaining its top position in the luxury B-class fuel SUV market [4]

However, this “fuel vehicle defense” strategy cannot hide the reality of eroding overall market share. In the first 11 months of 2025, cumulative sales of brands in the over-RMB 300,000 price range reached 2.09 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 10%, while new power brands such as NIO, Li Auto, and Aito are continuously encroaching on this core territory of traditional luxury brands [1].

In 2025, domestic high-end NEV brands have achieved catch-up and even surpassing in scale compared with traditional luxury brands:

• Aito M9: cumulative deliveries reached approximately 118,000 units in 2025 (full year), ranking first in sales of luxury SUVs priced above RMB 500,000 for 20 consecutive months, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 260,000 units, making it a phenomenon-level product in China’s high-end luxury vehicle market [5][6]
• Aito M8: cumulative deliveries exceeded 150,000 units within 8 months of launch, quickly seizing the high-end SUV market in the RMB 400,000 price range [5]
• Aito M7: cumulative deliveries exceeded 370,000 units, with approximately 118,000 units delivered in 2025 alone
• Aito’s full brand cumulative deliveries exceeded 420,000 units in 2025 [5]

• Li Auto L6: 166,500 units, ranking first in sales among Li Auto’s product line
• Li Auto L7: 80,700 units
• Li Auto L9: 45,200 units
• Li Auto L8: 43,300 units

• Xiaomi SU7: full-year sales of 258,000 units, occupying a unique position in the mid-to-large pure electric sedan market priced above RMB 200,000 [7]
• Xiaomi YU7 (SUV model): despite a short delivery period, it has achieved an impressive result of 154,000 units sold

• Aito M8 (150,400 units), Aito M7 (118,400 units), and Aito M9 (118,100 units) form a stable high-end SUV matrix
• Zhijie R7: 81,900 units, becoming a main player in the mid-to-large SUV market
• Zunjie S800: sales exceeded 11,000 units within just a few months of launch, directly targeting the “78S” (Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8) [8]

Domestic high-end NEV brands have successfully broken through the price moat of traditional luxury brands:

: Models such as Aito M7, Li Auto L6, and Xiaomi SU7 have formed a strong substitute for BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A4L

: Aito M8, Li Auto L7/L8 have achieved catch-up in scale with BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, and Audi Q5L

: Aito M9’s full-year sales in the SUV market priced above RMB 500,000 reached nearly 120,000 units, while the full-year sales of BMW X5, which is in a similar price range, were only 70,100 units, a year-on-year decrease of 17,000 units [1][2]

: According to the latest statistics, domestic models have accounted for 6 of the top 10 best-selling luxury vehicles in the RMB 400,000 price range, marking the breaking of traditional luxury brands’ absolute dominance in this price range [8]

According to data released by Tengyi Research Institute, from 2021 to 2025, BBA’s intended loyalty rate has all fallen below 18%, meaning that among 100 BBA repurchase-intended users, fewer than 18 want to continue buying BBA [9][10]. This data reveals an extremely severe reality of user churn:

• Although BBA’s core models such as the “34C” (3 Series, C-Class, A4L), “56E” (5 Series, E-Class, A6L), and “35C” (X3, GLC, Q5L) can fend off the offensive of second-tier brands, they can no longer retain their own users
• User churn is showing an accelerating trend, with a significant expansion of the decline in 2025

Corresponding to BBA’s user churn, cutting-edge high-end brands are strongly absorbing BBA users [9][10]:

Brand	Proportion of Intended Repurchase Users from BBA
Aito	36.81%
Li Auto	27.22%
Tesla	24.21%
Xiaomi	19.15%

These data indicate that BBA is experiencing “systemic blood loss”, as its traditional users are shifting to domestic high-end NEV brands on a large scale.

Deeper-level changes in user structure are taking place:

: Post-90s and post-95s have become the core consumer group in the luxury vehicle market, and their attention to intelligent cockpits and urban NOA (Navigation on Autopilot) functions is far higher than their obsession with traditional brand logos [11]. The lagging infotainment systems of traditional luxury vehicles are being widely abandoned by young users.

: China’s luxury vehicle market has shifted from the traditional perception of “brand + mechanical quality” to a new paradigm of “intelligence + experience + ecosystem” [12]. McKinsey’s 2025 China Auto Consumer Insights Report shows that 50% of consumers refuse to pay a premium for electric vehicles of multinational brands [1].

: Young users value “tangible” comfort, large space, and intelligent experience more, while there is a certain mismatch between BBA SUV models and Chinese users’ needs [10]. The premium of “brand logos” that once represented social status is being rapidly diluted by extreme electrification and intelligent technology experiences.

Chinese local brands have established systematic advantages in the field of intelligence [1][12]:

:

• Supports 16 dialect variants including Cantonese, Sichuan dialect, and Northeast dialect
• The accuracy rate of multi-round dialogue understanding reaches up to 98%
• Continuous OTA (Over-The-Air) upgrade capability, keeping the system fresh with regular use

:

• Although BMW’s iDrive system supported Cantonese recognition as early as 2013, the scope of dialect coverage has long been limited to a small number of types
• Large-scale dialect adaptation optimization was not launched until 2025 with the new generation operating system
• There is an obvious gap in localized voice interaction functions compared with mainstream domestic brands
• The MB.OS system has experienced OTA failures, affecting user experience

:

• Huawei’s ADS (Advanced Driving System) has achieved multi-scenario coverage
• Functions such as urban NOA, highway navigation autopilot, and automatic parking are becoming increasingly mature
• Continuous iteration and upgrades are expanding its leading advantages

:

• It is difficult to gain an edge over Chinese brands in the field of high-level intelligent driving
• Electric models modified based on fuel vehicle platforms have a generational gap in technical architecture
• They have not yet followed up on the leading architecture of central supercomputing + regional control

:

• In 2025, the penetration rate of NEVs in China has exceeded 50%
• The proportion of NEVs in BBA’s sales is still at a low level: the proportion of pure electric vehicles of Mercedes-Benz is only 8.1%, and that of Audi has just exceeded 12.9% [2]
• Most core electric models are modified from fuel vehicle platforms, and are inferior to domestic pure electric models in terms of space layout and energy replenishment efficiency

:

• Although Mercedes-Benz’s MB.EA pure electric platform adopts an 800V high-voltage architecture, it has not yet followed up on the mainstream Chinese architecture of central supercomputing + regional control
• The first domestically produced model iX3 based on BMW’s “Neue Klasse” platform will not be launched until 2026
• Models such as Audi Q6L e-tron (co-developed with Huawei) and E5 Sportback (based on the PPE platform) failed to meet market expectations after launch (E5 Sportback sold fewer than 700 units in its first month on the market)

Sales decline has triggered a chain reaction, leading to a dealer channel crisis [1][11][13]:

:

• Starting from the second half of 2025, incidents of BBA dealers closing stores and operators losing contact have occurred one after another in many places such as Hangzhou and Dongguan
• Thousands of car owners were unable to recover their down payments and maintenance package fees
• Zhengzhou Zhongyuan Porsche Center suddenly became “empty”; Porsche plans to cut the number of its dealers in China from 150 to 80 by 2026, with nearly half of the stores facing elimination [13]

:

• The gross profit of new car sales in traditional 4S stores has fallen to -22.3%
• 74.4% of dealers have price inversion (selling price lower than purchase price)
• Dealers of traditional luxury brands such as BMW are under profit pressure, and some dealers have gross profit margins lower than the industry average

:

• Traditional luxury brand 4S stores in many places have been directly rebranded as domestic NEV showrooms
• Asia-Pacific’s largest Audi store has been transformed into a NIO House
• Maserati showrooms have subleased space to Li Auto
• Porsche and Mercedes-Benz stores have switched to brands such as Aito

:

• More than 800 top salespeople from BBA and Porsche have switched to domestic NEV brands such as NIO and Harmony Intelligent Mobility
• The traditional luxury vehicle sales system is experiencing systemic talent drain

:

• The profit ratio of NEV dealers reaches 42.9%, crushing the 25.6% of traditional channels
• Channel model revolution: transparent pricing in direct stores and user community operations are impacting the “tricky” sales methods of 4S stores
• NIO’s user repurchase rate exceeds 60%, reconstructing the service value chain

Facing the lost sales ground in 2025, BBA has designated 2026 as a key transformation year, and will launch a total of more than 40 all-new or facelifted models in the Chinese market [4][14].

:

• Plans to introduce more than 15 all-new and facelifted products to the Chinese market
• Covering the new-generation luxury, core luxury, and high-end luxury market segments
• New models based on the three all-new pure electric architecture platforms (MB.EA, AMG.EA, VAN.EA) will be unveiled one after another
• Strategic models such as the all-new long-wheelbase pure electric GLC SUV, domestically produced long-wheelbase GLE SUV, and mid-facelifted Mercedes-Benz S-Class will be launched

:

• Centered on the MB.EA pure electric platform and MMA modular architecture
• The Shanghai R&D center will focus on optimizing the MB.OS system to solve previous technical problems
• Accelerate the promotion of the “dual-track fuel and electric” strategy

:

• A total of about 20 new BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad products are planned for 2026
• The domestically produced long-wheelbase version of the Neue Klasse BMW iX3 will make its global debut in the first half of 2026 and be launched in the second half of the year

:

• Betting on the Neue Klasse pure electric exclusive architecture
• Integrates core technologies such as 800V high-voltage architecture and the 6th-generation eDrive system, improving energy efficiency by 30%
• Equipped with BMW Group’s pioneering Panoramic iDrive, BMW Neue Klasse eDrive system, and BMW Driving Super Brain
• In terms of intelligent driving, it cooperates with Chinese local tech company Momenta, claiming to realize urban NOA, highway navigation NOA, and automatic parking intelligent assistance

:

• Cooperates with Huawei to develop an in-vehicle ecosystem based on HarmonyOS NEXT
• Accesses the Huawei HarmonyOS ecosystem, equipped with a 15.6-inch irregular curved screen and 3D HUD
• The Chinese team will lead the R&D of digital experiences

:

• In-depth cooperation with Huawei, the Q6L e-tron is equipped with Huawei’s intelligent driving system
• The A5L fuel vehicle will be equipped with Huawei ADS 2.0 for the first time
• Launches an all-new electric brand “AUDI” specially built for the Chinese market
• The second model E7X co-developed with SAIC will be launched soon

:

• Cooperates with FAW-Volkswagen Audi and Zhongsheng Holdings to build 10 lightweight outlets
• Orders from the new channels have increased by 40%
• SAIC Audi A5L Sportback breaks the price barrier with a pre-sale price of RMB 235,900

:

• BBA has profound manufacturing heritage, a global supply chain system, and brand accumulation
• In-depth cooperation with Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Momenta, and Alibaba can quickly make up for intelligent shortboards
• Intensive new product launches in 2026 are expected to reignite market enthusiasm

:

• There is a systemic mismatch between the global R&D system and the fast pace of “one generation iteration every 18 months” in the Chinese market
• The core technical architecture is still led by headquarters, with limited participation of the Chinese team
• Brand premium is being rapidly diluted, and consumers’ acceptance of the premium for BBA electric vehicles continues to decline
• The stability of the dealer network is facing a test, and the vicious cycle of “sales decline - channel contraction - lack of confidence” has not been fundamentally reversed

The collective sales slump of BBA in China is not a simple loss of market share, but an epitome of the transformation of the automotive industry from “brand hegemony” to “technology equality” [1][12][14]. The structural collapse of the market foundations of traditional luxury brands by domestic high-end NEV brands is taking place, reflected in the following dimensions:

• Paradigm shift from “brand premium” to “technology premium”
• Intelligent technology has become the new defining standard for luxury
• The brand moat of traditional mechanical quality is being dissolved by technology equality

• BBA’s intended loyalty rate has fallen below the 18% warning line
• The proportion of users of new power brands who come from BBA generally exceeds 20%
• Young consumer groups’ pursuit of intelligent experience surpasses brand obsession

• The traditional 4S store model is facing a systemic crisis
• The profit advantages of NEV channels are restructuring the sales network pattern
• Talent flow accelerates the transfer of channel capabilities

• Changes in the market value of global automakers in 2025 show that “technology attributes” are replacing “luxury attributes” as the new logic for valuation
• Porsche’s market value fell by 21.9%, and Ferrari’s market value fell by 16.6%
• The capital market is reassessing the core competitiveness of traditional luxury brands in the era of electrification and intelligence

At the current stage, the substitution of BBA by domestic high-end NEV brands shows the following characteristics:

:

• RMB 300,000-500,000 range: Aito, Li Auto, and Xiaomi have formed a scale-level threat to BBA’s core models
• SUV market above RMB 500,000: Aito M9 has fully surpassed BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE

:

• Ultra-luxury vehicle market (above RMB 700,000): although Zunjie S800 has achieved monthly sales of 2,000 units, there is still a gap compared with the “78S”
• Sedan market: domestic high-end sedans have not yet formed a comprehensive substitute for the 56E
• Brand mindset: some consumers still have faith in traditional luxury brands

Whether BBA’s counteroffensive can succeed depends on the following key variables:

• Whether domestically produced models based on native electric platforms such as BMW iX3 and Mercedes-Benz pure electric CLA can compete head-on with domestic new powers in terms of product strength

• Whether cooperation with tech giants such as Huawei and Momenta can be transformed into market-recognized user experiences

• Whether the stability and service capabilities of the dealer network can rebuild consumer trust

• Whether the optimal solution can be found in the trade-off between market share and profit

Overall, domestic high-end NEV brands’ impact on the traditional luxury brand market