China’s car exports hit record high
BEIJING: China’s car exports surged to a record high in April, data showed on Friday, as domestic sales slipped 5.8% from a year earlier amid intensifying price competition and consumers’ caution about spending on big items during a shaky economic recovery.
Car exports jumped 38 per cent year-on-year to 417,000 units in April, continuing strong momentum from the previous month which posted a 39 per cent growth in exports, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said.
An ongoing anti-subsidy investigation by the EU into Chinese automakers has disrupted and put pressure on vehicle exports to the bloc, but China has been actively exploring South America, Australia and ASEAN markets for exports, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the association.
He said local automakers would have to make a choice between going overseas and losing out, as competition in the domestic market intensifies. Passenger vehicle sales in the world’s biggest auto market fell 5.8 per cent in April from a year earlier to 1.55 million units and slipped 9.6 per cent from March, CPCA data showed. Car sales had risen 5.7 per cent in March on the year, and jumped 53 per cent on the month. “Market sluggishness was worse than expected, while some automakers still strived to keep producing and resulted in rising inventories at dealerships,” Cui said.
While the share of new energy vehicle sales scaled a new high, paving the way for the world’s largest auto market to fast-track its green goal, EV sales are still far slower than those of plug-in hybrids (PHEVS).
NEVS accounted for 43.5 per cent of total car sales, a record full-month high after hitting a milestone of more than half in the first half of April. China has set a target of 45 per cent by 2027.
The PHEV segment, which has grown faster since 2022, drives the success of domestic giant BYD, making up 57% of the company’s car sales in April.