On July 31st, according to a report from Caixin cited by Japan’s “Toyo Keizai Online”, it is expected that China will surpass Japan to become the world’s largest exporter of automobiles this year, which has attracted attention in Japan due to this historic shift.
According to data from the automotive manufacturers associations of both countries, China and Japan are expected to export 1.07 million and 954,000 vehicles, respectively, in the first quarter of 2023. It is widely expected in the industry that China’s auto exports will surpass Japan’s in 2023. Gong Min, head of automotive research at UBS China, pointed out that China’s auto exports had been hovering around 1 million units for about 10 years before the explosive growth of the past three years, which is “an amazing performance”. One key reason for this is the emergence of electric cars, according to the Japanese media.
At the end of June, Wang Hua, Vice Dean of Lyon Business School’s Graduate School of Management (and Dean of the Asia School of Business at Shanghai Jiao Tong University), visited Europe and attended a new energy vehicle conference, where he said: “It feels like attending a conference about China. In just one morning, China was mentioned several times in the speeches and discussions of the representatives.”
A senior executive at a well-known international consulting firm who declined to be named said: “Now the whole world knows that China is in a leading position in electric cars, and China’s auto industry is performing well.”
The British media pointed out that the electric cars that are truly attractive to the European market are the Model 3 and Model Y exported from Tesla’s Shanghai factory, as well as the products of SAIC Motor’s MG. A German automotive magazine dismantled SAIC’s electric car “MG4” and praised it as “an electric car developed for the masses”, because the prices of electric cars in Germany are generally high.
SAIC Motor attaches great importance to such evaluations. On July 4th, Yuan Yingcheng, the general manager of SAIC Motor Germany, said in an interview: “Germany is the birthplace of cars, with world-renowned companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen. Any country’s car products want to be recognized in Germany, which is as difficult as a foreigner selling porcelain in Jingdezhen.”
The article pointed out that this is a historic opportunity. With its leading position in electric cars, Chinese companies can adopt an active overseas strategy. In fact, almost every Chinese company has announced such plans one after another.
Previously, BYD started expanding overseas in May 2021, with production bases around the world. SAIC’s Thai industrial park also began construction in May this year, and Changan Automobile announced in the same month that it would build a production base in Thailand. In July, Chery Automobile announced that it would build factories in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
However, some experts point out that due to the complex and unstable geopolitical situation, Chinese car companies may not be as smooth sailing as Japanese and South Korean car companies. Chinese companies’ global expansion is facing unprecedented challenges. Some countries have already taken action, especially in Europe, and global car companies are ready to fight against Chinese car companies.
