According to early data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), China is on course to become the world’s top automobile exporter this year for the first time.
According to statistics, the country shipped 4.41 million autos from January to November, a 58% increase over the same time in 2022. China has so surpassed Japan, whose full-year total is estimated to reach about 4.3 million. According to the report, Japan last fell from first place in 2016, when it was eclipsed 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,” the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported.
According to the research, the increase in Chinese shipments to Russia coincided with the evacuation of Japanese and Western automakers from the country due to new sanctions. According to CAAM data, China exported 730,000 vehicles to Russia between January and October of this year, which is seven times the number exported the previous year. According to reports, Chery Automobile and Great Wall Motor primarily shipped gasoline-powered cars to the country, including midrange and big sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Mexico was the second-largest export market, with Chinese auto sales increasing 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,” the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported.
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.
