What’s new: China’s auto exports will fall back to range in line with the experiences of other major car producing countries like Germany and Japan following a banner year in 2023, an industry expert said.
China’s annual auto exports will drop to between 4.5 million and 4.7 million vehicles, Wang Qing, a deputy director of the Institute of Market Economy at the State Council’s Development Research Center, said Sunday at the China EV 100 Forum.
China’s auto exports surged 57.9% to 4.91 million vehicles in 2023, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, overtaking Japan as the world’s No. 1 auto exporter.
The background: Slowdowns in China’s vehicle shipments to Asia, North America and South America became evident last year, Wang said. Europe was an exception, but mostly due to surge in exports to Russia, which reached 900,000 vehicles.
A shift to overseas manufacturing would also contribute to a slowdown in Chinese auto export growth. “Major car exporting countries or automotive powerhouses generally go through three stages: domestic production, whole vehicle export, and overseas production,” Wang said.
For example, BYD Co. Ltd. has signed a preliminary deal to build its first European electric passenger car plant in Szeged, Hungary while weighing a new plant in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. executives have met with Mexican foreign trade officials over potential plans to establish manufacturing facilities there.
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