China is on track to become the world's top car exporter this year for the first time ever, Nikkei Asia reported on Friday, citing preliminary data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Statistics show the country exported 4.41 million automobiles from January through November, up 58% from the same period in 2022. China thus overtook former export leader Japan, whose full-year total is expected to be around 4.3 million. According to the report, the last time Japan dropped from the top spot was in 2016, when it was surpassed by Germany.
“China aims to become an automotive powerhouse, and sees the global shift to EVs (electric vehicles) as a way to achieve that goal,” Nikkei wrote.
The report pointed out that the surge in Chinese exports to Russia followed the exodus of Japanese and Western automakers from its market amid new sanctions. CAAM statistics show that China exported 730,000 vehicles to Russia in the January-October period, seven times as many as a year earlier. Chery Automobile and Great Wall Motor reportedly exported mostly gasoline-powered cars to the country, including midsize and large sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Mexico was the second-largest export market, with the volume of Chinese cars there soaring 71% to 330,000 units. “Chinese automakers are looking to build a customer base in the country to serve as a foothold for an eventual expansion into the US and Canadian markets,” Nikkei wrote.
Data also showed that exports of Chinese EVs and other new energy vehicles jumped 77% year-over-year to 1.43 million units in the January-October period. According to CAAM, these accounted for 34% of all auto exports during those months. Most of China's EV exports went to Europe and Southeast Asia, the newspaper said.
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