Less than a decade-and-a-half after it became the largest new-car market, China has now become the biggest exporter of new motor vehicles, overtaking Japan, the US and Europe.
Japan is no longer the world’s largest exporter of vehicles, with China taking the top spot for the first quarter of 2023 (January to March inclusive).
According to business news outlet Nikkei Asia – citing data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers – motor vehicle exports from China increased 58 per cent compared with the same period last year, with 1.07 million cars being sent offshore.
The Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association reported a 6 per cent rise, with 950,000 vehicles being exported.
Belgium, Australia, and Thailand were the biggest buyers of Chinese-made electric vehicles, with the top-three produced by Tesla, SAIC (MG and LDV), and BYD.
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Tesla’s Shanghai plant increased its output by 20 per cent in the first quarter, compared with the same period in 2022, with 90,000 vehicles produced for export.
Russia is now China’s best customer, with almost all major car manufacturers halting production in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Chinese exports to Russia have tripled in one year, to 140,000 vehicles, with Chery and GWM the greatest beneficiaries.
China overtook the United States as the largest manufacturer of new cars in 2009, and it’s taken 14 years for it to topple Japan as the largest vehicle exporter in the world.
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