China Rises to World's No.1 in Car Exports with 2.14 Million Units in H1

China's automobile exports in the first half of this year (January to June) have ranked first in the world for the first time.

Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, China [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, reported by Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 6th, the number of automobiles exported by major Chinese companies in the first half of this year increased by 76% compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.14 million units. In contrast, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association reported that Japan's automobile exports in the first half of the year increased by 17% compared to the same period last year, totaling 2.02 million units.

The increase in China's automobile exports is attributed to new energy vehicles such as electric cars. New energy vehicles including electric, hydrogen, and hybrid cars reached 534,000 units, showing a 160% increase compared to the first half of last year. Tesla, which has a factory in Shanghai and recently started exporting to Korea, exported over 180,000 units, while BYD, considered a leading Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, exported 80,000 units.

By country, Russia had the highest export volume with 287,000 units from January to May this year. It is analyzed that after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, vehicle manufacturers from Korea, Japan, and Europe reduced their local operations, and China has been filling this gap.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.