Economy China overtakes Japan as global top auto exporter

China has become the world's biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year. Officials figures released last week show China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the period, up 58% compared to the first quarter of 2022. At the same time, Japan's vehicle exports stood at 954,185 after edging up 6% from a year earlier. China's exports were boosted by demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.

Chinese auto exports continue to grow in the current quarter. An industry group for passenger vehicles expects exports to climb 30% for the full calendar year to 4 million units. In 2009, China surpassed the U.S. to become the world's largest market for new vehicles. The Chinese government helped the domestic EV industry grow by offering purchasing and tax incentives, as well as by developing charging infrastructure to bring electric vehicles into the mainstream.

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The shift to electrics has fueled China's rise as an auto-exporting power. First quarter exports of new energy vehicles, which include EVs, soared 93% on the year to 380,000 units. New energy vehicles accounted for roughly 40% of China's auto exports. By company, Tesla's China arm was the top exporter of new energy vehicles at 90,000 units, according to Chinese media. Runners-up were SAIC Motor's passenger vehicle unit at 50,000 units and BYD at 30,000 cars.

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China has also seen exports to Russia surge since the start of the Ukraine war, as Western countries imposed trade sanctions on Moscow. Last, year, Chinese carmakers - including Geely, Chery and Great Wall - saw their market share in Russia jump after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota quit the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

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I'm not sure of how it all works, but one thing the US urges/requires foreign auto companies to do is set up shop in the US--and actual manufacturing, not just assembly (a distinction which some companies have tried to blur). I'm also not sure how the trade agreements with Canada/Mexico play into this. (Euroland may have comparable requirements for localization.)

I realize being the world's top exporter doesn't mean all of it is going to the US, but I think that's at least the second largest auto market after China. Maybe not too far in the future there could be articles about (e.g.) BYD setting up a new plant in one or another southern state.

China seems unstoppable: it became the world's largest exporter of automobiles last year for the first time, knocking Japan off its perch thanks to strong overseas sales of electric vehicles. Japan exported 4.42 million vehicles in 2023, up 16% from the previous year, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the volume fell short of the 4.91 million vehicles China exported last year, the total soaring 58% on the year.

The figures represent the first time Japan has lost its crown in seven years, comparable data shows. Japan was last edged out in 2016 by Germany. A significant driver of China's auto exports was Russia, a market that Japanese and Western automakers withdrew from in response to the war in Ukraine.

Another significant driver was an 80% surge in China's exports of new energy vehicles, a category that includes EVs.

Symbolic of this rise is BYD, which outstripped Tesla in global EV sales for the first time ever during the fourth quarter. In 2022, BYD declared a capacity to manufacture 1.25 million passenger vehicles, but it actually produced over 1.8 million units that year. And in 2023, the company fielded a capacity for around 3.5 million vehicles, according to local media, placing it above Tesla's 2.35-million-unit capacity for the same year. BYD has been rapidly expanding Chinese plants with the cooperation of local governments. The first phase of a plant project in Anhui province's Hefei took just 10 months between the start of construction and the launch of operations, according to local media.

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