China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) exports continued to surge in May, as the NEV sector's economy of scale further manifested itself, along with an expanding global footprint of Chinese auto brands, with their international recognition steadily growing. NEV exports reached 200,000 units in May, surging 80.9% year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). For the January-May period, the increase was 37.1% as the total number of exports reached 789,000 units. The May figure was up 5.8% month-on-month. NEV exports in May accounted for 44.5% of all cars exported, up 16.6 percentage points compared with the same period last year. May NEV exports were driven by brands including BYD, Chery, Tesla China, SAIC Motor and Geely, according to the report. BYD was the top exporter with 84,068 cars shipped. U.S. auto brand Tesla exported 23,074 units from its production base in China, the CPCA report showed.
“Chinese brands have been diversifying their overseas markets to reduce reliance on just a few markets, and have achieved notable success in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America,” Bian Yongzu, Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Modernization of Management Magazine, told the Global Times. The CPCA report noted that despite recent external disruptions, exports of domestic plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) to developing countries are growing rapidly with bright prospects. PHEVs made up 32% of all NEV exports in May, compared with 18.5% last year. From January to April, China accounted for 68% of the world's NEV sales growth, with a total of 5.97 million units sold in the period, the report said. With the domestic and overseas markets combined, NEV sales in the first five months of this year reached 4.35 million units, up 34.1%.
In the period, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 9.3% year-on-year to CNY6.4 trillion, accounting for 60% of the country's total goods exports. EVs were among the leading products, with a rise of 19% year-on-year, the Global Times reports.
