Kia Leads Automaker Efficiency in 2025, Ferrari Tops Profit Per Employee
A. Krivonosov
Discover which automakers lead in efficiency with vehicles sold per employee and profit per worker. Kia tops sales efficiency, Ferrari leads profit per employee in 2025.
Automakers can be judged not just on profits and sales, but also on how many vehicles they sell per employee. In 2025, Kia topped that efficiency ranking. The Korean brand sold 3.14 million vehicles with a workforce of about 52,000, resulting in 60.3 cars per employee. For context, Nissan moved a similar volume but had 132,800 employees. Also in the top five were BAIC at 54.9 cars per employee, Changan at 50, Geely at 47.5, and Suzuki at 44.5.
BYD remained the industry's largest employer with 869,600 workers. The company cut its workforce by nearly 100,000 but sold 4.6 million vehicles, resulting in just 5.3 cars per employee. Volkswagen ranked second in headcount with 662,942 employees, and Toyota third with 390,241.
When it comes to profit per employee, the industry lives in a different reality: Ferrari. The Italian brand earned €533,578 in operating profit per worker, followed by JLR at €157,007, Toyota at €106,196, Kia at €103,096, and GM at €94,490.
This data doesn't tell the whole story — companies have different factories, outsourcing levels, vertical integration, and model lineups. But the trend is clear: some brands win on scale, others on lean structures, and Ferrari doesn't sell volume but margin.
