No. 2 Car Exporting Country after Japan
The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association announced on Jan. 25 that car exports from China increased 54.4 percent to 3.11 million units last year. Japan’s exports totaled 3.2 million from January to November and China came in second by beating Germany (2.61 million). South Korea is likely to be the sixth with 2.3 million.
China’s exports include 860,000 or so green cars. Its green car exports increased 120 percent last year, when supply from Tesla’s plant in Shanghai accounted for almost half of its EV exports. In the first half of 2022, China’s green car exports added up to 202,000, including 97,182 from the plant.
At the same time, China’s car exports are diversifying in terms of destinations. The destinations were mainly Russia, Iran and Latin America in the past, but exports to Belgium, Chile, Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and so on are increasing these days and BYD is about to enter the Japanese market. In addition, the average export price of Chinese cars rose from US$12,900 to US$16,400 from 2018 to last year.
“China’s competitiveness in the global EV industry will continue to increase fast and the South Korean government needs to come up with more countermeasures and investment incentives,” the association pointed out.