Commercial vehicles refer to motor vehicles engineered and designed for the transportation of passengers and goods. Standing alongside passenger vehicles as one of the two core categories in automotive classification, commercial vehicles encompass all goods vehicles as well as buses and coaches with more than nine seats. Defined by their role as essential workhorses and production assets, commercial vehicles serve critical roles across logistics and freight transport, passenger transit, construction, and other key sectors, anchoring the operational backbone of the national economy.
According to the national standard GB/T 3730.1, commercial vehicles are categorised into five key types based on structure and application: buses/coaches, goods vehicles, semi-trailer prime movers, incomplete passenger vehicles (bus chassis), and incomplete goods vehicles (truck chassis).
In practical market applications, commercial vehicles are conventionally divided into two broad categories: buses/coaches and goods vehicles. Buses and coaches refer to passenger-carrying vehicles with more than nine seats, comprising long-distance express coaches, city transit buses, airport shuttle buses, and similar vehicles; goods vehicles cover a broad spectrum of haulage vehicles, including light-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks, tippers, and prime movers. In addition, pick-up trucks are legally classified as multi-purpose goods vehicles and are regulated under the commercial goods vehicle framework.
The fundamental difference between commercial vehicles and passenger cars lies in their operational purpose. While passenger cars are designed primarily for carrying occupants and their personal luggage—prioritising ride comfort, safety, and driving dynamics—commercial vehicles function as business assets, where the primary considerations are reliability, durability, and total lifecycle operational returns.
In terms of technical specifications, commercial vehicles are distinguished by several key characteristics: their gross vehicle weight (GVW) is significantly higher than that of passenger vehicles, with heavy-duty trucks often exceeding a GVW of 12 tonnes; engines feature higher displacements with high-torque output curves calibrated specifically for heavy-load duty cycles; they typically utilise robust body-on-frame chassis constructions to deliver superior load-bearing capacity; and their braking and suspension systems are engineered specifically for high-stress, heavy-payload operating conditions, differing markedly from passenger vehicles.
In 2025, China's commercial vehicle market registered production and sales volumes of 4.261 million units and 4.296 million units respectively, reflecting year-on-year (YoY) gains of 12% and 10.9%, successfully returning overall market volume to the 4-million-unit threshold.
Breaking down by market segment, goods vehicle production and sales in 2025 recorded 3.693 million units and 3.723 million units, up 12% and 10.7% YoY respectively. Within this segment, heavy-duty goods vehicle sales reached 1.145 million units, surging 27% YoY to emerge as the fastest-growing sub-sector; light goods vehicle sales stood at 2.024 million units, up 6.5% YoY; while mini goods vehicle sales recorded 429,000 units, down 1% YoY. Meanwhile, bus and coach production and sales achieved 568,000 units and 574,000 units, representing YoY growth of 11.8% and 12.3% respectively.
The year 2025 marked a major milestone for commercial vehicle exports, with annual outbound shipments surpassing the 1-million-unit threshold for the first time to hit 1.06 million units, climbing 17.2% YoY. Among these, heavy truck exports reached 340,000 units, while light truck exports exceeded 500,000 units—both charting all-time record highs.
The commercial vehicle sector is currently navigating a pivotal transition from relying on "cost advantages" to becoming "innovation-led". Electrification and new energy adoption represent the primary strategic direction. In 2025, sales of new energy commercial vehicles surged by 63.7% YoY, with market penetration surpassing 26.9%. In the heavy-duty segment, the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Large-Scale Application of New Energy Heavy Trucks" sets a target for new energy heavy truck penetration to reach 40% by 2030, with total vehicle parc surpassing 1.6 million units.
On the energy replenishment and charging infrastructure front, policy directives outline the development of a 30,000-kilometre zero-carbon highway freight transport corridor along key stretches of the national expressway network's "5 Radial, 4 Longitudinal, and 5 Horizontal" corridors, supporting the establishment of approximately 3,000 dedicated heavy-duty truck charging and battery-swapping stations.
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