Nearly 5,000 of SAIC's MG-branded vehicles wait to be exported at the port of Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday. The vehicles are headed to markets including the UK, Australia and Belgium. The port's auto export business has grown rapidly this year. Photo: cnsphoto

China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2023, surging by 58.3 percent year-on-year, data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) recently revealed, indicating that China has now become the world's largest auto exporter, outpacing Japan.

China's total vehicles export value from January to April stood at 7.67 trillion yuan, up 10.6 percent year-on-year, with car exports now playing important role in the country's foreign trade structure.

The Waigaoqiao Port in Shanghai saw a total of 231,000 vehicles exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa in the first quarter of 2023, accounting for 40 percent of the car exports, China Media Group reported

In April alone, China exported 376,000 vehicles, surging 2.7 times over the same period in 2022, lifted by strong production capacity of 2.13 million cars in the month, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. 

Exports of new-energy vehicles account for the majority of vehicles being shipped abroad, hitting 100,000 NEVs in April, which is 8.4 times that of the same month in 2022.

Last year, China became the world's second largest car exporter by surpassing Germany. GAC data showed that China exported 3.22 million vehicles in 2022, increasing 56.8 percent year-on-year, while Germany exported 2.61 million vehicles.

Xu Haidong, deputy general engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), said that China-made vehicles have become more competitive on the global market, benefitting from strict quality control, sophisticated industrial chain and advanced maintenance services.

Global Times