China Overtakes German as Second Largest Auto Exporter: Industry Body

BEIJING, October 12 (TMTPOST)— China consolidates its position as one of leading exporters of automobiles across the world despite global economic gloom and supply disruptions including chip shortage.

Source: Visual China

China exported 308,000 vehicles in August, representing a 65% increase year-over-year (YoY), China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) estimated recently. Data from the auto industry body showed automobile exports of China for the first time topped 300,000 units, setting the monthly record for the second straight month and the total exports from January to August exceeded Germany, just next to Japan, the top car exporter in the world.

Data also demonstrated how China fast made major strides in auto exports during the past two decades. Back to 2002, Germany and Japan each exported more than 1 million vehicles out of the worldwide exports of 22.1 million units, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufactures (OICA). In comparison, CAAM reported China’s exports that year only reached 43,100 units. The U.K. industry media outlet Just-Auto said China first exported more than 2 million vehicles in the year 2021, and with the exports of 2.015 million vehicles, the country was ranked the third across the globe, behind Japan and German, which had exports of 3.82 million units and 2.3 million units respectively.

Among others, new energy vehicles (NEVs), the sector including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, were proved to be the major engine for the whole industry. CAAM data showed NEV exports of China totaled 340,000 units in the first eight months of the year, up 97.4% YoY, while NEV sales in September rose 93.9% YoY to a new record of 708,000 units, accounting for 27.1% of overall auto sales that month.

BYD Co., China’s largest EV maker, is coming into its own. It sold 201,259 NEVs in September with a 183.07% YoY growth, setting monthly sales record for the seventh consecutive month. The achievement highlights BYD’s robust growth in green energy as the automaker has ceased the production of cars powered only by internal combustion engines since March, completely shifting to production of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Its sales maintained triple-digit monthly growth since entering into 2022.