Automotive World's 2026 assembly plant database indicates China is flourishing for domestic players, while North America is falling behind
Chinese automakers made substantial production gains in their home market between 2024 and 2025: overall output increased 6.6%, with BYD, Geely, Chery and SAIC all scoring double-digit growth. However, as Automotive World’s 2026 assembly plant database makes clear, their gain was legacy automakers’ loss.
For example, Germany’s premium players suffered notable setbacks: BMW’s Chinese volumes fell 13.1%, to 604,305 units, while Mercedes-Benz saw a 21.2% drop, to 469,813 units, with its Beijing site taking the greatest hit. Meanwhile, Honda shed 16.4% across Wuhan and Guangzhou—the most substantial loss of its 9.1% global slide.
Things also turned down in North America for several brands. Ford’s Canadian production plummeted 99.5% to just 271 units, reflecting the discontinuation of the Edge in 2024 and a US$3bn retooling project at Oakville, Ontario. In Mexico, Nissan experienced a 16.9% setback to 450,905 units, mostly because of lower volume at Aguascalientes 1 and 2. Stellantis operations in the US declined 16.3% as Ram pick-up production in Sterling Heights faltered, and Tesla’s Austin and Fremont sites fared no better, down 19.8% collectively to 663,857 units.
Elsewhere, Indian auto manufacturing is starting to heat up: total production increased 6.6% to 6.74 million units. The majority of light vehicle players there made gains to a lesser or greater extent—besides Honda, which saw its output at Tapukara decline 27.3%. Most notably, Volkswagen saw a 150.1% uptick to 326,000 units across Aurangabad and Pune. This trend will likely continue in 2026 as more OEMs leverage India as both a growth market and export hub.
For further insights on how automakers’ production footprints are changing globally, download Automotive World’s 2026 assembly plant database.