Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – After decades of making bumper profits in China, Germany's carmakers have run out of road and sales have slumped dramatically, forcing painful job losses at home.

Volkswagen's woes in China pushed Europe's largest carmaker to a 5.8 billion euro ($6.5 billion) loss for the three months to end-September.

The 10-brand group's declining fortunes in the world's largest car market are the main reason behind a historic restructuring drive that could see it shed up to 120,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also cutting jobs, and all three have issued profit warnings this year.

"Nobody was prepared for the swiftness or the violence of the pivot," Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights told AFP. "The fall for the German automakers has been really abrupt."

The big three German carmakers' annual vehicle deliveries in China fell about a third between 2019 and 2025 to 3.87 million, according to AFP calculations based on company disclosures.

Chinese carmakers' shares of their domestic market meanwhile rose to 65.3 from 37.8 percent, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

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