Chinese carmakers sold 1.76 million vehicles in foreign countries in the first five months of 2023, marking growth of 81.5% compared to the same period last year, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Industry experts highlighted that the Chinese vehicle market has begun to accelerate since April, but cautioned that challenges remain for carmakers to achieve sales growth for the entire year.
Statistics released by the CAAM on Friday showed that passenger vehicles accounted for the majority of exports from China. From January to the end of May, sales increased by 96.6% and totaled 1.46 million units. Meanwhile, exports of commercial cars amounted to 291,000 units, marking growth of 30.9%.
Exports of new energy vehicles – including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles – increased by half to 457,000 units in the first five months of the year.
The CAAM noted that the year-on-year growth rates are mostly attributed to lower comparative bases in 2022, which resulted from the considerable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on production and sales.
Car sales in China totaled 26.86 million units in 2022, marking modest growth of 2.1% compared to the previous year. Vehicle sales and production began to bounce back in June 2022, following Covid-19 outbreaks which effectively disrupted supply chains for almost two months and led to a shortage of components across the country, especially in Shanghai, which faced the most severe lockdowns.
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