BYD's Seal U — the Song PLUS in China — was the most exported car from China in 2025, with 244,837 units, up 109.4% year on year, according to the full-year ranking published by D1EV from CPCA data. It finished 53,005 units ahead of the MG ZS (191,832, +14.8%) and was the only model above 200,000. Thirteen of the top 20 passed 100,000 units.
BYD's growth, Chery's breadth
BYD placed four models in the top 20 — the Seal U, the Dolphin Mini (Seagull) third with 191,308 (+257.3%), the Sealion 7 tenth with 104,962 and the Sealion 5 (Song Pro) 15th with 85,882 (+142.4%) — for 626,989 units between them.
Models from Chery's family of brands took six places and 721,446 units: the Tiggo 4 (Tiggo 5X at home, 176,353), the Tiggo 7 (155,529), the Omoda C5 (101,035), the Tiggo 8 (75,589) and two versions of the Jaecoo J7, which the ranking lists separately: the C-DM plug-in hybrid with 119,399 and the petrol car with 93,541. Counted together the J7 would be 212,940 — second only to the Seal U.
The direction differs, though. BYD's ranked models grew fast, while several of Chery's established nameplates fell: the Tiggo 7 by 34.7%, the Tiggo 8 by 29.2% and the Omoda C5 by 22.1%.
Who else
- Great Wall's Haval had two models in: the Jolion ninth (110,156, −18.6%) and the H6 18th (74,644, +48.0%).
- Geely's Coolray (103,705, −7.5%) and Atlas (Boyue L, 71,078, −5.6%), SAIC's MG3 (100,345), the Baojun 310 (75,041) and the JAC X8 Plus (68,959) complete the Chinese entries.
- Tesla's Shanghai-built Model Y (113,657, +48.8%) and Model 3 (112,377, −38.7%) were the only non-Chinese models, seventh and eighth.
By brand
On the brand list from the same source, BYD led with 990,374 exports (+144%), 59,119 ahead of Chery (931,255, +6%), with MG (522,254), Haval (367,416) and Geely (291,650, −22%) behind. The list counts brands separately — Jetour (246,282) and Exeed (56,114) are not in Chery's figure. Leapmotor's 67,052 was up 839%, the biggest increase on the list.
In the markets
- The Tiggo 7 ranked second among Brazil's midsize SUVs in September 2026.
- The current MG ZS is sold as a hybrid only in the market that review covers.
- Chery's Tiggo 8 CSH plug-in hybrid is claimed to cover about 1,400 km on a full battery and tank.
- In Russia, Jolion owners have reported corrosion within two years.
The full table, with each model linked to its profile, is on the data page.