After the export volume jumped to the second place in the world for the first time in August, China’s auto export performance reached a new high in September. Among them, whether it is production, sales or export, new energy vehicles continue to maintain the growth trend of “one ride to the dust”.

Industry insiders said that the export of new energy vehicles has become a highlight of my country’s auto industry, and the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles in overseas markets has increased rapidly, and this good development trend is expected to continue.

Exports in the first three quarters increased by 55.5% year-on-year

According to the monthly sales data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (hereinafter referred to as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers) on October 11, China’s auto exports continued to achieve good results in September after hitting a record high in August, exceeding 300,000 vehicles for the first time. An increase of 73.9% to 301,000 vehicles.

Overseas markets are becoming a new direction for the sales growth of self-owned brand car companies. Judging from the performance of major companies, from January to August, the proportion of SAIC Motor’s exports increased to 17.8%, Changan Motor increased to 8.8%, Great Wall Motor increased to 13.1%, and Geely Automobile increased to 14%.

Encouragingly, independent brands have achieved a comprehensive breakthrough in exports to the European and American markets and third world markets, and the export strategy of international brands in China has become increasingly effective, highlighting the overall improvement in the quality and quantity of domestically produced vehicles.

According to Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, while the number of exports has risen, the price of bicycles has also continued to rise. The average price of China’s new energy vehicles in the overseas market has reached about 30,000 US dollars.

According to the data of the Passenger Car Market Information Association (hereinafter referred to as the Passenger Car Association), the accelerated breakthrough in the passenger car export market is a highlight. In September, the passenger car exports (including complete vehicles and CKDs) under the statistics of the Passenger Federation were 250,000 units, an increase of 85% year-on-year, and an increase of 77.5% in August. Among them, the export of self-owned brands reached 204,000 units, an increase of 88% year-on-year. From January to September, a total of 1.59 million domestic passenger vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 60%.

At the same time, the export of new energy vehicles has become an important driving force for domestic automobile exports.

Data from the China Automobile Association showed that from January to September, Chinese auto companies exported a total of 2.117 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 55.5%. Among them, 389,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of more than 1 times, and the growth rate was much higher than the overall export growth rate of the auto industry.

Data from the Passenger Federation also shows that in September, domestic new energy passenger vehicles exported 44,000 units, accounting for about 17.6% of the total exports (including complete vehicles and CKD). SAIC, Geely, Great Wall Motor, AIWAYS, JAC, etc. The new energy models of car companies have performed well in overseas markets.

According to industry insiders, my country’s new energy vehicle exports have formed a pattern of “one superpower and many strong”: Tesla’s exports to China are the top overall, and several of its own brands are in good export situation, while the top three exporters of new energy vehicles are in the top three. Markets are Belgium, UK and Thailand.

Multiple factors drive the growth of car companies’ exports

The industry believes that the strong momentum of auto exports in the first three quarters of this year is mainly due to the help of multiple factors.

At present, the global auto market demand has picked up, but due to the shortage of chips and other components, foreign auto manufacturers have reduced production, resulting in a large supply gap.

Meng Yue, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, previously said that from the perspective of international market demand, the global auto market is gradually recovering. It is predicted that global car sales will be slightly over 80 million this year and 86.6 million next year.

Under the influence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, overseas markets have created a supply gap due to supply chain shortages, while China’s overall stable production order due to proper epidemic prevention and control has promoted the transfer of foreign orders to China. According to data from AFS (AutoForecast Solutions), as of the end of May this year, due to chip shortages, the global auto market has reduced production by about 1.98 million vehicles, and Europe is the region with the largest cumulative reduction in vehicle production due to chip shortages. This is also a big factor in the better sales of Chinese cars in Europe.

Since 2013, as countries have decided to transition to green development, the new energy vehicle industry has begun to develop rapidly.

At present, about 130 countries and regions in the world have proposed or are preparing to propose carbon neutrality goals. Many countries have clarified the timetable for banning the sale of fuel vehicles. For example, the Netherlands and Norway have proposed to ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2025. India and Germany are preparing to ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2030. France and the United Kingdom plan to ban the sale of fuel vehicles in 2040. Sell ​​petrol cars.

Under the pressure of increasingly strict carbon emission regulations, the policy support for new energy vehicles in various countries has continued to strengthen, and the global demand for new energy vehicles has maintained a growth trend, which provides a broad space for my country’s new energy vehicles to enter overseas markets. Data show that in 2021, my country’s new energy vehicle exports will reach 310,000 units, an increase of nearly three times year-on-year, accounting for 15.4% of total vehicle exports. In the first half of this year, the export of new energy vehicles continued to be strong, and the export volume increased by 1.3 times year-on-year, accounting for 16.6% of the total vehicle export. The continued growth of new energy vehicle exports in the third quarter of this year is a continuation of this trend.

The substantial growth of my country’s auto exports also benefited from the expansion of the overseas “circle of friends”.

Countries along the “Belt and Road” are the main markets for my country’s automobile exports, accounting for more than 40%; from January to July this year, my country’s automobile exports to RCEP member countries were 395,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 48.9%.

At present, my country has signed 19 free trade agreements, covering 26 countries and regions. Chile, Peru, Australia, New Zealand and other countries have reduced tariffs on my country’s auto products, creating a more convenient environment for the international development of auto companies.

In the process of transformation and upgrading of China’s auto industry, in addition to focusing on the domestic market, it also focuses on the global market. At present, the investment of domestic car manufacturers in the new energy vehicle market far exceeds that of multinational car companies. At the same time, domestic car companies rely on new energy vehicles to develop intelligent networking technology, which has advantages in intelligence and networking, and has become an attractive target for foreign consumers. key.

According to industry insiders, it is precisely by virtue of its leading edge in the field of new energy vehicles that the international competitiveness of Chinese car companies has continued to improve, product lines have continued to improve, and brand influence has gradually increased.

Take SAIC as an example. SAIC has established more than 1,800 overseas marketing and service outlets. Its products and services are distributed in more than 90 countries and regions, forming 6 major markets in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. The cumulative overseas sales have exceeded 3 million. vehicle. Among them, SAIC Motor’s overseas sales in August reached 101,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 65.7%, accounting for nearly 20% of the total sales, becoming the first company in China to exceed 100,000 units in a single month in overseas markets. In September, SAIC’s exports increased to 108,400 vehicles.

Founder Securities analyst Duan Yingsheng analyzed that independent brands have accelerated the development of markets in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas through overseas construction of factories (including KD factories), joint overseas sales channels, and independent construction of overseas channels. At the same time, the market recognition of self-owned brands is also gradually improving. In some overseas markets, the popularity of self-owned brands is comparable to that of multinational car companies.

Promising prospects for car companies to actively deploy overseas

While achieving outstanding export performance, domestic brand car companies are still actively deploying overseas markets to prepare for the future.

On September 13, SAIC Motor’s 10,000 MG MULAN new energy vehicles were shipped from Shanghai to the European market. This is the largest batch of pure electric vehicles exported from China to Europe so far. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that SAIC’s export of “10,000 vehicles to Europe” marks a new breakthrough in the international development of my country’s auto industry, China’s new energy vehicle exports have entered a stage of rapid development, and it also drives the global auto industry to transform into electrification.

In recent years, Great Wall Motor’s overseas expansion activities have also been very frequent, and the total number of overseas sales of complete vehicles has exceeded 1 million. In January this year, Great Wall Motor acquired the Indian plant of General Motors, together with the Mercedes-Benz Brazil plant acquired last year, as well as the established Russian and Thai plants, Great Wall Motor has realized the layout in the Eurasian and South American markets. In August this year, Great Wall Motor and Emile Frye Group formally reached a cooperation agreement, and the two parties will jointly explore the European market.

Chery, which exported overseas markets earlier, saw its exports in August increase by 152.7% year-on-year to 51,774 vehicles. Chery has established 6 R&D centers, 10 production bases and more than 1,500 sales and service outlets overseas, and its products are exported to Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Chile and other countries. In August of this year, Chery started negotiating with Russian automakers to realize localized production in Russia.

From the end of July to the beginning of August this year, BYD announced to enter the passenger car market in Japan and Thailand, and began to provide new energy vehicle products for the Swedish and German markets. On September 8, BYD announced that it will build an electric vehicle factory in Thailand, which is planned to start operation in 2024, with an annual production capacity of about 150,000 vehicles.

Changan Automobile plans to build two to four overseas manufacturing bases in 2025. Changan Automobile said that it will establish European headquarters and North American headquarters in due course, and enter the European and North American automobile markets with high-quality and high-tech automobile products.

Some new car-making forces are also targeting overseas markets and are eager to try.

According to reports, on September 8, Leap Motor announced its official entry into overseas markets. It reached a cooperation with an Israeli automotive industry company to export the first batch of T03s to Israel; Weilai said on October 8 that its products, system-wide services and The innovative business model will be implemented in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark; Xpeng Motors has also chosen Europe as the preferred region for its globalization. It will help Xiaopeng Motors quickly enter the European market. In addition, AIWAYS, LANTU, WM Motor, etc. have also entered the European market.

China Automobile Association predicts that my country’s auto exports are expected to exceed 2.4 million this year. The latest research report of Pacific Securities stated that making efforts on the export side can help domestic high-quality automobile and parts companies to speed up the extension of the industrial chain, and further stimulate their endogenous power in terms of technological iteration and quality system improvement.

However, industry insiders believe that independent brands still face certain challenges in “going overseas”. At present, most of the independent brands entering the developed market are still in the testing stage, and the globalization of Chinese automobiles still needs time to verify.