China's auto exports achieve rapid growth on the country’s road to high-quality development

China's auto companies exported a total of 187,000 vehicles in August, up 7.5 percent month-to-month and 1.6 times year-on-year, as indicated in a recent report from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Workers work on the assembly line at a factory of vehicle manufacturer BYD in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

Statistics released by China's General Administration of Customs showed that a total of 1.32 million vehicles were exported during the period from January to August this year, up 117.5 percent year-on-year, and generating a trade surplus of 137.7 billion yuan ($ 21.35 billion), up 111.1 percent, which exceeded last year's 12-month running total.

“In recent years, China's automobile quality, technology, and brand services have been improving nonstop. As a result, its international competitiveness has gradually increased, and so the pace of export growth has been faster,” suggested Shu Yuting, spokeswoman with the Ministry of Commerce.

According to Shu, China's rapid growth in auto exports can be attributed to three factors -- the global rebound in the auto market, the significant driving effect of new energy vehicle (NEV) exports, and the increasing international competitiveness and international influence of China's auto companies.

Statistically, China exported a total of 173,000 NEVs between January and August this year, up 4.5 times year-on-year, contributing about 20 percent to the growth in auto exports. In August alone, NEVs contributed 35.2 percent to overall vehicle exports.

“Since European markets have increased subsidies for NEVs, the market potential is huge. Now is a perfect time for China to export its NEVs,” said Xu Haidong, the deputy chief engineer of CAAM.

In Xu's view, Chinese auto companies operating in the field of NEVs, especially pure electric vehicles (PEVs), have had an early start compared with German, Japanese, and other foreign brands. They are obviously more advantaged in product development, quality verification, and electric batteries, as well as the layout of other industry chains.

According to the latest statistics, the penetration rate for independent brands of NEVs in China is as high as 28.4 percent, which compares to 14.2 percent for traditional luxury car brands and 2.2 percent for mainstream joint venture brands.

Incomplete statistics also show that China's auto companies have established 11,000 marketing outlets around the world, and the export growth rates for eight of its top 10 auto exporters have exceeded 100 percent.