Image Source : China Visual

BEIJING, January 13 (TMTPOST) —— China's auto exports reached 3,111,000 units in 2022, up 54.4 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Thursday.

The top three companies in total vehicle exports in 2022 are SAIC Motor, Chery Automobile, and Tesla China, with 906,000, 452,000 and 271,000 units exported respectively.

The export of new energy vehicles grew faster than the overall growth. In 2022, the export volume of new energy vehicles reached 679,000 units, a year-on-year growth of 120%.  The export volume of new-energy vehicles accounted for 21.8% of the total export volume, 6.4 percentage points higher than that in 2021.  It is worth noting that Tesla's exports account for about 40% of the export volume of new energy vehicles.  In 2022, Tesla's Shanghai factory delivered 710,000 vehicles, 38 percent of which were exported.

The main export destinations of new energy vehicles are Europe and Southeast Asia.  Customs data showed that in the first 11 months of 2022, the top three markets for NEV exports were Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines.

In 2019, MG, a subsidiary brand of SAIC Motor, was the first to enter the European market.  Subsequently, several auto companies, such as Xiaopeng Motor, BYD, and NIO, began to play a big role in the European new energy vehicle market

SAIC has extensive businesses in Europe.  In 2022, SAIC launched a new pure Electric sedan model MG4 Electric in the European market.  It is now available in nearly 30 European countries.  The company also disclosed that it sold more than 100,000 vehicles in the European market in 2022, mainly new energy vehicles.

BYD and NIO are also stepping up in Europe. In September 2022, BYD announced the launch of three models, Han, Tang, and Yuan PLUS, for the European market, selling vehicles in cooperation with local dealers.  In October of the same year, BYD announced it had signed an agreement with SIXT, a European car rental company, to purchase at least 100,000 new energy vehicles from BYD in the next six years.