|
China’s car exports in first 8 months
surpass 2025 total, as EV sales soar
[September 10, 2026]
By CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG
(AP) — China’s passenger car exports in the first eight months of this
year already surpassed last year's total, an industry association said
Thursday, though domestic sales continued to decline.
Passenger car exports in August jumped 67.1% from the year before to
around 890,000 units, driven by plug-in hybrids and pure electric
vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers
(CAAM).
|
Aerial view of new cars waiting for shipment at a port in Shanghai,
China, on Jan. 14, 2026. (Chinatopix via AP, File) |
|
China exported more than 6.2 million passenger vehicles in
January-August. Exports of all types of vehicles totaled 7.1
million last year, CAAM data show, including about 6 million
passenger vehicles.
The world’s largest car exporter is on track to achieve 50% to
70% growth in full-year passenger vehicle exports, according to
S&P Global Ratings.
At home, passenger car sales fell 25.6% year-on-year in August
to just below 1.5 million vehicles.
China’s domestic car market is under pressure from intense
competition and price wars, while the slowing economy has
undermined consumer confidence.
China’s car exports have been stronger than expected so far this
year, helped by competitive pricing and quality, said Stephen
Chan, an associate director at S&P Global Ratings.
“It’s likely that strong export growth will largely mitigate the
domestic weakness,” he said.
Over the past few months the energy shock from the Iran war and
rising fuel prices have led more drivers of gasoline and
diesel-powered vehicles to shift to EVs.
Hefty tariffs have in effect kept most Chinese-made passenger
cars out of the U.S. market. But China has been exporting and
selling more of its vehicles to Europe, Latin America, Africa
and Southeast Asia.
Chinese automakers are also setting up more factories overseas.
Weak domestic demand is increasing carmakers’ incentives to
redirect capacity overseas, analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a
recent research note, and Chinese carmakers are increasingly
moving beyond vehicle exports toward local assembly and
manufacturing to ease impacts from trade barriers and reduce
logistics costs.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
|
