China’s Automobile Exports Catch Up from Behind

By Lily Wang

China has unknowingly become the worlds largest automobile production and consumption country， but is also the major auto exporter.

China exported more than 2 million vehicles last year， reaching 2.015 million， ranking third in the world， only behind Japan （3.82 million） and Germany （2.3 million）. It has also surpassed South Korea （1.52 million） in terms of auto exports.

Before the end of June， China exported more than 1 million auto vehicles， up by 40% from last year. Such export performance is excellent when compared with the 12% domestic sales drop between January and May.

Lack of vehicles around the world

According to data from the General Administration of Customs， China exported a total of 676，000 whole vehicles during Q1 this year， up by 57.8% from the previous year； the value of these exports reached USD 11.75 billion， up by 87.9%. In other words， the monthly average is more than 200，000 vehicles. If this trend continues， China will probably replace Germany as the worlds second largest auto exporter this year. In April 2022， due to the impact of the pandemic on the supply chain， the General Administration of Customs showed that China exported 171，000 vehicles that month， which was still an increase of 10.32% from the previous year； from January to April， China exported a total of 847，000 vehicles， with a monthly average of more than 200， vehicles.

“The world is currently experiencing a serious lack of vehicles，” said Cui Dongshu， the Secretary General of CPCA at a news conference in June. He emphasized that the lack of chips and raw materials have led to big reductions in auto manufacturing in Europe， Japan and the U.S. However， the demands in Southeast Asia and other markets are strong. The competitiveness of Chinas auto vehicles has been increasing， which has filled the gap in the world auto market and lead to a rising export volume.

According to auto industry data forecasting company Auto Forecast Solutions （FAS）， by May 29， the world auto industry has seen a reduction of approximately 1.98 million vehicles due to the shortage of chips. AFS estimates that the worlds total reduction of vehicles will climb to 2.79 million.

AFS said that， so far this year， China has seen a reduction of 107，000 vehicles due to the lack of chips. The reduction scale is small； but Europe is region that has been hit most by the shortage of chips.

The export data of domestic auto companies has indicated a strong growth momentum. CPCA data shows that in May， Chinas self-owned auto brands exported 141，000 vehicles， up by 77%. SAIC Motor， Chery， GWM， Geely Auto， Changan Auto and Dongfeng Auto are leading exports of self-developed auto vehicles.

According to the sales report of SAIC， SAIC sold 86，000 vehicles in its overseas markets in May， up by 97%. The sales volume in the overseas markets reached 300，000 vehicles from January to May. SAIC has ranked in the top 10 auto brands in 18 countries， including Australia， Saudi Arabia and Mexico. In the European market， the monthly sales of SAICs self-branded products have increased by more than 200%. SAIC claims that in 2020， the export target was 800，000 vehicles.

Furthermore， according to data offered by Chery Holding Group to China Newsweek， the Chery Group exported 274，000 vehicles in May， up by 41.1% from last year. From January to May， the Chery Group exported a total of 112，400 vehicles， up by 18.4% and breaking the world record. The Chery Groups self-owned products， such as Chery， exceed and Jetour， have entered the overseas market. 17，600 of the Tiggo 8 series were exported from January to May， up by 21.8%. “In some overseas countries， the Tiggo 8 series products are used as presidential vehicles or reception vehicles for national guests，”said a representative from the Chery Group.

“In the future， CCAGs overseas business will account for more than 30% of the total，” said CCAG Chairman Zhu Huarong. During the first 4 months of the year， Changans vehicle exports accounted for 13% of its total production， up from 5% last year.

Export of new energy vehicles rises sharply

It is noteworthy that new energy vehicles have been leading in terms of export increases.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers， China exported a total of 43，000 new energy vehicles in May， up by 130.5%. The total export of new energy vehicles reached 174，000 during January to May， up by 141.5%. Among these exports， there were 168，000 new energy passenger vehicles， up by 146% and 5，000 commercial vehicles， up by 54.4%.

Cui Dongshu highlighted the fact that China has an excellent performance in the export of electric vehicles， such as Tesla and SAIC passenger cars. According to data from CPCA， China has become the worlds largest new energy vehicle market， with the production and sales ranking first in the world for seven consecutive years. In May， Tesla sold 32，200 vehicles， with 22，300 thousand vehicles being exported. A spokesperson for Tesla explained that： “Teslas capacity utilization has now recovered to 100%.”Except for temporary factory shutdowns due to the pandemic in Shanghai in April， Teslas Shanghai super factory has been running at full capacity to supply the market. At the beginning of each season， it tends to prioritize the international sales market. The data shows that in January， Tesla China sold over 59，800 vehicles， with 40，000 vehicles being exported.

The spokesperson for Tesla also stated that on May 11， the first shipment of 4，767 Tesla electric vehicles， after the resumption of production， set sail for the European market； on May 15， the second batch of 4，000 Tesla vehicles also set sail from Shanghai South Port towards Belgium. During May， approximately 22，300 Tesla vehicles were transported from China to Europe， Australia， Japan and other countries and regions.

“New energy vehicles are the core growth point of Chinas auto exports， changing the passive situation of relying on Asian and African countries for exports，” continued Cui Dongshu. According to customs data， in 2021， Belgium， Britain， Germany， France， Australia and other developed countries were top export destinations for Chinas new energy vehicles. Last year， Chinas auto exports to Europe grew the fastest， with a growth rate of 204%， and auto exports to North America grew by more than 100%.

In the realm of new energy vehicle export， besides the industry leader Tesla， Chinas self-owned auto brands have also had a good performance. SAIC exported 8，212 new energy vehicles， Dongfeng eGT exported 3，937 vehicles， Geely exported 1，786 vehicles， Chery New Energy exported 670 vehicles and GWM new energy exported 506 vehicles.

At the same time， Cui Dongshu believes that the world is facing an aging problem， to the point that there will be a huge demand for electricpowered travel tools. This has led to a market increase in A00 and A0 auto models， which has already happened in China， Europe and Southeast Asia. Cui Dongshu believes that when faced with this competition， it is difficult for traditional fuel vehicles to make further breakthroughs， because the traditional vehicle needs an after-sales maintenance system. The after-sales maintenance of electric vehicles is relatively simple， and Chinas new energy vehicle industry chain has obvious advantages. For this reason， Chinas new energy vehicle producers will make breakthroughs in the Southeast Asian market.

Based on previous estimates， China is expected to export approximately 3 million vehicles in 2022. Against this background， China shall seize the opportunity presented by the electric vehicle industry to catch up from behind.

Industry insiders say that China has a very comprehensive industry chain and a huge market. China is able to produce all the auto components， except some auto chips. Certainly some highend auto vehicles require large imports of components， but such imports will normally decrease. As the domestic electric vehicle industry develops， BMW， Mercedes-Benz and Audi， and other luxury vehicles produced in the U.S. and Japan， have suffered a big impact. This will also affect exports of Europe， the U.S. and Japan.

Since Chinas traditional vehicle industry started to develop much later compared with developed countries， it is difficult to catch up with Germany， Japan and other leading auto producing countries in the three core components of the engine， gearbox and chassis； however， when it comes to new energy vehicles， China has a great opportunity to catch up from behind in the fields of batteries， motors and electronic control.

On June 8， the Information Office of the State Council held a regular briefing on the policies of the State Council. At the meeting， Wang Shouwen， Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and deputy representative of international trade negotiations， said that the government will support foreign consumers buying Chinese brand vehicles and support more regions to carry out export business for secondhand vehicles.