It’s done: in the first quarter, China overtook Japan to become the world’s leading exporter of automobiles. More than a third of exported cars are electric or plug-in hybrids.
In 2022, China has become the world’s second largest car exporter ahead of Germany, but still behind Japan. But with a gap of less than 100,000 units, and with the current momentum, it was clear that the middle empire would become number 1 this year. From the first quarter, the game seems bent…
China exported 1.07 million cars (and light commercial vehicles) in the first three months of 2023. This represents a spectacular increase of 58.3%. The neighboring archipelago sold 954,185 vehicles over the same period. Here too, a number on the rise, but only by 6 points.
More than a third of electrified vehicles
Regarding electric and hybrid vehicles, the volume accounted for more than a third of exports. 380,000 “NEV” (New Energy Vehicles) as they are called in China were exported. Up 93%, and compared to the 679,000 units sold… over the whole of 2022.
Electric vehicles have therefore greatly contributed to the general increase in exports. And non-Chinese manufacturers have also brought their share. The leading exporter of electric vehicles in the first quarter is thus Tesla with 90,000 vehicles, followed by SAIC (MG, Wuling, Maxus) with 50,000 units. BYD ranks third with 30,000 cars, but should make strong progress in the coming months following its intense launch campaign in many countries.
Another factor that has greatly favored exports from China: Russia. With 140,000 cars, three times more than the previous year, the country has become the leading destination for Chinese exports. But in this case with few (or no) electric models. The other major destinations for Chinese vehicles are Europe, Australia, Thailand, Brazil and Iran…
And it’s not about to stop. Xu Haidong of CAAM (China Association of Automobile Manufacturers) said the country aims to export 8 million vehicles in 2030.
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