Auto & Transportation

Since the beginning of this year, China's international trade exports of automobiles, especially new energy vehicles, have continued to grow rapidly. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers recently, in the first five months, automobile companies exported 1.758 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 81.5%. In May, automobile companies exported 389000 vehicles, an increase of 3.4% month on month and 58.7% year-on-year. Among them, 108000 new energy vehicles were exported, an increase of 7.9% month on month and a year-on-year increase of 1.5 times.

According to the prediction of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference, China's international trade export volume of automobiles is expected to reach 4 million units this year. Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Conference, believes that the important reason for the growth of China's automobile exports is the significant increase in international trade exports of new energy vehicles, and the strong increase in average export prices. China's new energy vehicles have obvious scale advantages and market expansion demand, and more and more brands are starting to go abroad. At the same time, the service network continues to improve, and the brand reputation has significantly improved.

China's new energy vehicles are at the forefront of the world, "Bai Ming, Deputy Director of the International Market Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with China Trade News. Although China's automotive industry has lagged behind, new energy vehicles have started early, and both the central and local governments have increased efforts to layout new energy vehicles, which has continuously enhanced the competitiveness of China's new energy vehicles in patented technologies such as lithium batteries and supporting enterprises, In a leading position in the international market. In addition, the global automotive industry chain supply chain was recently impacted, and many countries have now accelerated the pace of phasing out traditional energy vehicles. For example, the European Union announced the phasing out of traditional energy vehicles before 2035, which provides a good opportunity for China's international trade and export of new energy vehicles.

Huang Dazhi, a researcher at Xingtu Financial Research Institute, stated that cost and technological advantages are important supports for the growth of China's new energy vehicle export scale, making China's new energy vehicle products highly cost-effective. Chinese car companies are constantly filling the technological gap in new energy vehicles and achieving world leadership in some fields, further gaining the favor of overseas consumers.

The export volume of new energy passenger vehicles in China has been continuously increasing. In April of this year, 91000 new energy passenger vehicles were exported, an increase of 1028.5% year-on-year and 29.4% month on month. Zhang Peng, Deputy General Manager of JAC Motors Automobile Group Co., Ltd., said that in 2022, China's new energy passenger vehicle sales will reach 6.55 million units, and the Market penetration will reach 27.8%, up 12.1 percentage points, leading Western Europe and North America. The electrification, intelligence and supply chain systems all have leading advantages.

Chinese new energy vehicle companies have also accelerated their pace of expanding overseas markets and won the favor of overseas markets with innovative technologies, service concepts, and excellent quality. According to the official data released by BYD, from January to April, BYD's overseas sales reached 53600 units, approaching the full year 2022 export sales of 55900 units, accounting for approximately 15.4% of China's total new energy vehicle exports in the first four months of 2023.

The European market is a strategic location for BYD. In April this year, BYD, together with three electric vehicle models, including the four-wheel drive seven seat multi-function sports vehicle (SUV) "Tang", appeared at the Brussels Motor Show in Belgium. BYD's entry into the European market is at a timely moment. Mike Belinfant, Senior Public Relations Manager for BYD Europe, stated that European consumers have a strong environmental awareness and love for electric vehicles. Currently, BYD has expanded into markets in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, and more models will enter Europe this year.

What challenges are currently facing China's exports of automobiles, including new energy vehicles? Zhang Peng believes that the competition in the domestic automotive market is becoming increasingly fierce, and the upgrading and iteration in electrification and intelligence are very fast. However, there are still certain limitations in the vast number of developing countries, such as the problem of over design in large screens and intelligent networking. Some application ecosystems can be used in China, but in some overseas countries, due to infrastructure, including data control issues, our application ecosystem cannot be supported, and consumers may not have a good experience, which may lead to some flashy phenomena

Zhang Peng stated that applying intelligent networking technology in developed countries faces issues of compliance control and data security for user privacy data. In addition, electric vehicles in China can achieve zero emissions during use, but there are still carbon emissions issues in the manufacturing process that need to be addressed and resolved.

Bai Ming stated that in the development of new energy vehicles, it is necessary to strengthen the supervision and control of the safety of lithium batteries. While exporting new energy vehicles in international trade, the construction of charging facilities should also keep up. In addition, China should strive for a voice in the formulation of new energy vehicle standards internationally.

The world's lithium battery trade barriers are forming, and the United States and Europe are strengthening their control over the localization of the battery industry, environmental regulations, and recycling. As competition among countries on the new energy vehicle track becomes increasingly fierce, we must respond by strengthening automotive strategies, tackling key core technologies, and controlling industry chain resources. "said Cao Guangping, an independent researcher on new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, China's new energy vehicle market should adhere to the principle of survival of the fittest, continuously improve its technological level, and not overly rely on protective policies to avoid future "failure to go out and strengthen". At the same time, in the era of intelligent new energy vehicles, it is even more necessary to strengthen research and investment in system software. (Translated from: China Trade Daily Author: Zhou Dongyang)