Auto & Transportation

"The year-on-year growth of export volume was 52.8%, the year-on-year growth of export volume was 67.8%, and the year-on-year growth of export unit price was 9.8%..." According to customs data, in the first 10 months of this year, China's automobile export volume and export volume achieved a significant year-on-year growth in the context of the global automobile industry moving towards electrification and intelligence, relying on its differentiated competitive advantage. Among them, the production and sales of new energy vehicles grew rapidly, and Chinese enterprises accelerated their deployment in overseas markets, which became a highlight this year.

In this regard, Sun Xiaohong, the secretary-general of the Automobile Branch of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical Products, predicted that in 2022, China's automobile exports would enter the 3 million mark, achieving the goal of 50% year-on-year growth. In the future, new energy vehicles will become an important driving force to lead Chinese cars to the world. The overseas target market of Chinese cars will shift from low-end to high-end, and the export automobile product matrix will be more abundant.

Sun Xiaohong mentioned that since this year, under the background of good control of domestic epidemic situation, with the strong resilience of China's automobile industry chain and the obvious growth of the comparative advantage of self owned brand cars, the overall production and export situation of China's automobiles has been relatively stable, and the number of orders in hand of export enterprises is relatively sufficient. However, China's auto exports are also faced with multiple pressures, such as tight supply of key parts, continuous rise of auto ro ship freight, geopolitical conflicts and the impact of Western sanctions, and contraction of foreign demand caused by global inflation.

Strong growth in vehicle exports

This year, China's automobile exports maintained a strong momentum. According to customs data, from January to October, China exported 2.6153 million complete vehicles (including complete sets of spare parts), an increase of 52.8% year on year. The export value was 46.621 billion US dollars, an increase of 67.8% year on year. Among them, the year-on-year growth rate of export volume and export amount in September exceeded 100%, and the export amount in October broke the single month record with an export amount of 7.083 billion US dollars, showing a trend of accelerated growth. Sun Xiaohong believes that in the first 10 months of this year, China's auto exports grew mainly because of two reasons: first, the export growth of new energy passenger vehicles to the middle and high-end markets played a leading role; Second, multi-functional passenger vehicles have strong applicability in overseas markets and are greatly favored.

At the same time of rapid growth in the export of finished vehicles, the export unit price of Chinese automobiles has also achieved a significant increase. According to customs data, from January to October, the unit price of China's finished vehicle export was 17800 US dollars, up 9.8% year on year. "The structure of export models continues to optimize, and the proportion of new energy vehicles with higher unit prices in exports has increased, which are the main reasons for the year-on-year increase in China's automobile export unit prices." Sun Xiaohong said.

From the perspective of export markets, Asia, Europe and Latin America are currently the three major markets for China's automobile exports. According to customs data, from January to October, Asia maintained its largest export market with 947700 vehicles, accounting for 36.2%; Europe took the first place in exports with US $16.897 billion, accounting for 36.2%. Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Belgium rank among the top three destination countries of China's passenger car exports by export quantity; In order of export amount, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia rank among the top three passenger car export destinations in China.

Unlimited business opportunities in the new energy market

The continuous growth of new energy vehicle exports is an important performance of China's automobile industry strength improvement this year. According to customs data, from January to October, China exported 827400 new energy vehicles, up 87.5% year on year; The accumulative export amount reached US $18.481 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 110.5%. "Some middle and high-end markets in Europe, Central Asia, Oceania and Asia have become the main export markets of China's new energy vehicles. Among them, the number of new energy vehicles exported by China to Slovenia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Israel, Thailand, New Zealand and other countries has increased significantly." Sun Xiaohong said.

The rapid growth of China's new energy vehicle export cannot be separated from the efforts and positive actions of many Chinese automobile enterprises. Chery Automobile and BYD are among the best. According to customs data, from January to October, Chery's automobile export volume has exceeded 350000 units, accounting for 14% of China's total automobile exports. At the same time, the cumulative sales of Chery Group's new energy vehicles in the first 10 months exceeded 200000, an increase of 182% year on year, a record high. With the continuous expansion of the global new energy vehicle market in recent years, BYD, which has advanced technologies in the industry such as blade battery, e-platform 3.0, DM-i super hybrid, has also focused its layout overseas. For example, in August this year, BYD officially entered the passenger car market in Thailand and announced that it would work with partners and dealers to provide consumers with excellent products and quality services and promote the development of Thailand's new energy automobile industry. In September, the first overseas passenger car factory invested and built by BYD Group officially landed in Thailand. The factory will use the most advanced right steering vehicle technology. It is expected to start operation in 2024, with an annual capacity of about 150000 vehicles. The cars produced will be put into the local market of Thailand and radiate the surrounding ASEAN countries and other regions.

"In recent years, under the encouragement of many policies such as the development of charging infrastructure, the construction of smart grid, and the implementation of tax reduction for new energy vehicles, the new energy vehicle market in Thailand has developed rapidly, gradually forming a strong market attraction, which provides opportunities for Chinese automobile enterprises to layout the Thai market." Sun Xiaohong said.