Major player: Vehicles parked at the Yantai Port in China’s eastern Shandong province. China overtook Germany as the world’s second-largest vehicle exporter in August, and is now second only to Japan. — AFP
BEIJING: China’s vehicle exports continued their momentum last month, cementing the country’s newly earned position as the world’s No. 2 vehicle exporter, as local carmakers are stepping up efforts to explore overseas markets.
In all, 301,000 vehicles left China’s ports in September, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
September data showed a 2.6% dip from the record high in August, but vehicle exports were still up almost 74% year-on-year (y-o-y).
Total exports in the first three quarters reached 2.12 million units, up 55% y-o-y, and more than the total in 2021, the first year China’s vehicle exports reached two million units.
China overtook Germany as the world’s second-largest vehicle exporter in August, and is now second only to Japan. Some 1.82 million units were shipped out of China in the first eight months of this year.
Exports from Germany in the same period stood at 1.66 million units, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry.
Chinese carmakers are revving up their exploration of global markets. In September, Great Wall Motors, the country’s largest sports-utility vehicle (SUV) and pick-up maker, sold over 18,000 vehicles overseas, accounting for one-fifth of its total sales in the month.
So far this year, it sold 112,000 units overseas, up 14% y-o-y. The carmaker said it is accelerating its “Go-Global” strategy, with electrification as one of its pillars.
One example is its plug-in hybrid H6 SUV, which hit the Thai market last Friday. The carmaker said it received over 1,000 orders for the model during a 40-minute launch event.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said new energy vehicles (NEVs), which include electric cars and plug-in hybrids, are emerging as a new driving force of China’s vehicle exports.
In the first three quarters, NEV exports totalled 389,000 units, double the figure in the same period last year. The top three destinations of such vehicles were Belgium, the United Kingdom and Thailand.
German car rental company Sixt signed a deal earlier this month for around 100,000 electric cars from China’s BYD. The order is to be met by 2028.
In the first stage of the agreement, BYD will deliver several thousand electric vehicles (EVs) to Sixt, with the first of them likely to be made available in the fourth quarter of this year.
SAIC Motor, China’s largest carmaker, exported 99,000 vehicles in September. Of them, 10,000 MG4 EVs were bound for Europe. — China Daily/ANN
