Entering Abandoned Markets
China’s auto exports in the first half of the year topped the world for the first time ever by beating Japan. This is attributed to expanding sales of new energy-powered vehicles such as electric cars in the Russian market from which U.S., Japanese and European automakers have been withdrawing since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), automobile exports by major Chinese companies in the first half of this year rose 76 percent to 2.14 million units from the same period of 2022.
This eclipsed Japan’s auto exports (2.02 million units) in the same period, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. This marked the first time China’s auto exports have surpassed Japan’s.
China’s auto exports have been driven by increased sales of new energy-powered vehicles, including electric vehicles. In the first half of this year, China exported 534,000 new energy-powered vehicles (electric, hydrogen, and hybrid vehicles), up 160 percent from the same period of 2022 and accounting for 25 percent of all exported vehicles.
Tesla, with a factory in Shanghai, China, exported more than 180,000 units, and BYD sold more than 80,000 units overseas.
By country, China’s vehicle exports to Russia surged. China’s vehicle exports to Russia were the highest at 287,000 units in the first five months of this year.
“After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, major Korean, Japanese, and European companies drastically reduced their Russian business,” Nikkei said, “Chinese companies are filling the void.”