For many publicly listed German companies, the former boom market of China has turned into a problem.
The share of revenue coming from China among the 15 DAX firms that regularly report Chinese sales, plus an additional 12 MDAX and SDAX companies with significant China exposure, fell by almost one fifth over a four‑year period-from 18.6 % to 14.9 %, according to calculations by the Handelsblatt Research Institute based on annual reports.
The decline is most pronounced in the automotive sector. Volkswagen sold about 42 % of its cars in China in 2020, a figure that dropped to 30 % in 2025. Similar trends appear in other sectors: Adidas’ share of sales fell from 23.6 % to 14.8 % in five years, Siemens’ share dropped from 13.2 % to 9.1 %, and the fast‑growing power‑plant maker Siemens Energy went from 6.1 % to 3.7 %.
The root causes are excess capacity and intense competition, which pressure even high‑quality suppliers to lower prices or give up market share, eroding profits and margins. This effect is most acute for German automakers, whose earnings are shrinking.