For an extended period, German luxury car brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi—collectively known as BBA—have maintained a near-monopoly in China's luxury car market. At their zenith, these three brands together commanded a staggering 70% share of the domestic luxury car segment, underscoring their dominance during the era of traditional fuel vehicles.

However, the automotive landscape has undergone a seismic shift. While BBA remains a formidable force, the overall environment of China's auto market has experienced a profound transformation. Chinese auto brands, capitalizing on their strengths in the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, have successfully executed a "curved overtaking" maneuver—a term denoting surpassing competitors through innovative and unconventional means. In the high-end car market, a cohort of NEV manufacturers has completely outmaneuvered the once-dominant joint-venture luxury brands from the fuel vehicle era.

Even stalwarts like BBA now find themselves unable to mount a counterattack.

A review of sales data reveals that for two consecutive years, 2024 and 2025, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi have all witnessed year-on-year declines in domestic sales. In terms of sales volume, BBA's 2025 figures have receded to the levels seen in 2018.

Among these, Mercedes-Benz experienced the steepest decline, with total annual sales of only 575,000 units in 2025, marking a year-on-year decrease of 19.5%. BMW and Audi fared slightly better, with domestic sales of 625,500 and 617,500 units, respectively, during the same period. Not only did they outsell Mercedes-Benz, but they also saw far milder year-on-year declines.

As we entered 2026, there is little doubt that BBA's domestic sales have continued their downward trajectory. In the first quarter of this year, Mercedes-Benz once again ranked last in domestic sales, selling only 111,600 units, with a year-on-year decline as high as 26.9%.

Although BMW and Audi are performing slightly better than Mercedes-Benz, the overall situation remains far from optimistic. BMW's domestic sales in the first quarter stood at 144,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 10%, while Audi's domestic sales were 127,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 12%.

The reasons behind BBA's continuous decline in domestic sales are not hard to discern. Compared to high-end NEV manufacturers such as AITO, Li Auto, NIO, Zeekr, Voyah, and Xiaomi, BBA has lagged in terms of intelligence and technological innovation. Despite repeated price reductions, sales have failed to receive a significant boost.

Although the second quarter is not yet over, based on the current trends, CheKuaiping can confidently predict that BBA's sales will likely continue to decline significantly in the second quarter of this year. Why is that?

This is because in April and May of this year, for two consecutive months, none of the models under the three major German luxury brands of BBA have been able to surpass 10,000 monthly sales. Let's first examine Mercedes-Benz.

As Mercedes-Benz's mainstream model, although the sales of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class increased month-on-month in May compared to April, it only sold 8,928 units. It failed to even break through the 9,000-unit mark, making it Mercedes-Benz's highest-selling model in May. The Mercedes-Benz GLC sold 7,856 units, a slight month-on-month decrease from the 8,200 units sold in April.

BMW's situation mirrors that of Mercedes-Benz, with the BMW 3 Series being its highest-selling model. After dropping to 9,107 units in April, sales slightly recovered in May but only reached 9,754 units, still falling short of the 10,000-unit mark. It should be noted that the BMW 3 Series was the best-selling model under BBA in May.

After rebreaking the 10,000-unit mark in March, Audi's mainstream model, the Audi A6L, began to decline again in April and May, selling 9,449 units in April and 8,709 units in May. Another mainstream model, the Audi A5L, saw its monthly sales fall below 10,000 units for four consecutive months from February to May.

Throughout May in the domestic auto market, a total of 34 models sold over 10,000 units. The highest-selling German luxury car, the BMW 3 Series, ranked 38th on the list. With such sales performance, how can BBA hope to achieve growth in the second quarter?

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