China overtook Japan as the world’s top auto exporter in the first quarter, driven by rising demand for electric vehicles and rising supplies in Russia.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China’s automobile exports for the January-March period increased by 58% from a year ago to 1.07 million units.
According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Japan exported 950,000 cars in the same quarter, up 6% year-on-year.
Chinese auto exports continued this quarter. An industry group for passenger vehicles expects exports to grow 30% to 4 million units throughout the calendar year.
Tesla China, Chery, Geely, SAIC, Great Wall Motors, Changan and BYD are the largest contributors to Chinese vehicle exports. Currently, SAIC is the largest Chinese vehicle exporter with the MG brand contributing the most to this stellar performance. One SAIC is generated for every three vehicles exported.
In contrast, it’s amazing that BYD came in 9th with just 58,000 units.
Moreover, from January to April this year, Chinese car companies exported a total of 1.37 million vehicles. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in particular, in April, the monthly export volume reached 376,000 units, an increase of 3.3% month-on-month and an increase of 170% year-on-year.