China is now the world’s largest car exporter – thanks to Russia

China has now become the world’s largest car exporter. The country overtook Japan in the first quarter of this year. More than one million cars were exported from China, an increase of 58 percent. Russia is the biggest recipient of Chinese cars.

Japan has been the world’s largest car exporter for years, surpassing Germany. Last year, China overtook Germany, and now figures from China’s customs authorities suggest it has also overtaken Japan in the first quarter of this year. BBC News. China exported 1.07 million vehicles during the quarter. This is a 58% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Japan increased its exports by 6% to 954,185 cars.

Among other things, China’s growth is being driven by increased exports to Russia. According to China’s State Administration of Customs, the largest importers of Chinese cars are Russia, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan, Australia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea. Russian growth is driven by, among others, Geely Auto, which rose sharply in Russia when European car brands abandoned the country.

Electric cars grew the most with 90 percent growth in the first quarter. State-owned SAIC, the maker of MG, was the largest exporter of cars. At home, BYD is the biggest brand, but BYD first came in ninth in the export league. Tesla is the third largest exporter and shipped 128,000 cars from China in the first quarter.