ECG — 2024-05-07
News from ECG
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) show vehicle exports surging in March to 502,000 units in the month alone, bringing Q1 exports YTD to 1.324 million units.
The surge of over half a million unit exports in March brings Q1 exports into strong positive territory. Exports in Q1 2024 are now up 33% compared to Q1 2023, and it is this strong double digit growth trend that China is keen to push.
In terms of types of vehicles being exported, ICE vehicles still account for 75.10% of the total vehicles exported in March. In the Q1 2024 timeframe ICE exports accounted for 76.77% of new vehicle exports, with 1,015,000 units exported while NEVs accounted for 23.22% with 307,000 units exported in the quarter. However the push to export NEVs has strengthened in March, with volume surging to 124,000 units up from just 82,000 exported in February.
The top automakers exporting new vehicles from China in March are led by SAIC with 96,000 units. Chery follows with 84,000 units exported, while Changan is third with 48,000 units. Geely is fourth with 45,000 units exported in the month, just ahead of BYD which exported 39,000 units. Great Wall hit 36,000 units in the month, ahead of Tesla which exported 27,000 units.
However, in the Q1 timeframe the top volume exporter from China was Chery with total new vehicle exports of 253,000 units. SAIC comes in second with 206,000 units. These two OEMs are well ahead of the others. Changan is third with 145,000 units exported in Q1, with Geely volume hitting 111,000 units ahead of BYD who exported 99,000 units. In sixth place is Great Wall with 93,000 units, ahead of Tesla with 88,000.
The top destinations for Chinese vehicle exports are released a month later, therefore data now shows volumes only for January and February. The top destination for new vehicle exports from China for the first two months of the year is led by Russia with 112,000 units, followed by Mexico with 66,000 units while Belgium comes in as the third largest export destination with 42,000 units. The UK follows with 38,000 units imported from China in the first 2 months of the year.
For the first two months of 2023 direct exports to Belgium from China hit 47,000 units while exports to the UK were 52,000 units. This marks an annual decline of -26.9% to the UK, and -10.6% to Belgium, though this could be partly explained by an increase in direct exports from China to other countries in Europe such as Spain and Italy. March’s data will tell us more.
ECG will update members at the annual General Assembly this month with the latest on vehicle exports from China to Europe.