China Expected to Beat Germany This Year
The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association announced on June 27 that Chinese automakers exported 969,000 cars for the first five months of this year, when South Korean automakers’ exports totaled 903,245. The former’s exports exceeded the latter’s for the first time in history.
In 2018, China’s annual automobile exports were approximately one million units. The figure fell to 995,000 in 2020 but soared to 2,015,000 in 2021. South Korea’s annual exports were 3,063,000 in 2014, 1,886,000 in 2020 and 2.04 million in 2021.
Chinese automakers’ rapid growth has to do with huge support from the Chinese government, industrial and technological protection based on joint venture establishment and their focus on green cars and alternative fuel vehicles. The ratio of exports to Europe to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers’ total exports rose from 19 percent to 25 percent from 2017 to this year. In South Korea, their electric buses accounted for 37 percent of the total electric bus sales volume last year.
According to some industry sources, China’s annual automobile exports are estimated to exceed three million this year, which means it may beat Germany and become the second-largest exporter in the industry. Last year, Japan was the biggest with 3.82 million.