China’s passenger car exports surged 80% in June from a year earlier, mainly due to strong demand for electric vehicles, though domestic sales fell 26%.
Export Growth
In the first half of this year, Chinese passenger vehicle exports jumped 72% to more than 4.4 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Sales inside China were still larger, at nearly 8.3 million for January-June and around 1.5 million passenger cars in the month of June.
China exported about 905,000 passenger cars last month, up from 809,000 in May.
Domestic Market Challenges
China’s domestic car market has been under pressure as the overcrowded market is plagued by fierce price wars.
A prolonged slump in the property market has hurt household budgets, hitting demand.
Cutbacks in government support for purchases of electric vehicles have also taken a toll.
Consultancy AlixPartners forecast that sales of light vehicles including passenger cars in China will likely fall 10%, partly because potential buyers could be holding off on purchases as they wait for prices to fall further.
Global Expansion
Chinese automakers like BYD have been expanding into overseas markets and setting up factories in key markets.
That can help improve their profitability, but it’s added to friction with trading partners.
China’s passenger car exports could grow by 30% to 50% for the whole of 2026 from a year ago, said Stephen Chan, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings.
Auto analysts have also predicted that higher gasoline prices due to the Iran war would lift global interest in electric vehicles.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
