Great improvements in the competitiveness of automobiles are the main reason for the rapid rise in China’s car exports, according to the vice chief engineer of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Chinese carmakers improved comprehensively in appearance, quality, supply chain, and after-sales services for both fuel-powered and new energy vehicles in recent years, Xu Haidong told Yicai in a recent interview.
China overtook Japan to become the world’s largest automobile exporter last year, according to CAAM statistics. China exported over 4.1 million passenger vehicles last year, up 64 percent from the previous year. Some 1.2 million of them were NEVs, up 78 percent in the period.
China-made cars offer more function and technology options and are on par with world-renown auto brands in terms of quality, Xu noted, adding that China-made NEVs and intelligent connected vehicle technologies, such as intelligent cockpits and driving assistance technology, even took a leading position overseas.
The advantages of Chinese NEVs do not lie only in technological upgrades but also in meeting the demand from new-generation customers born after 1980. According to CAAM surveys and studies, China-made cars are very attractive to young Chinese consumers, so it is very likely that they will also become popular among young overseas clients, Xu said.
“Chinese carmakers entered the NEV industry very early,” Xu noted. “This, combined with the rapid vehicle upgrade, increased market scale, and low costs brought by systematic development of companies along the supply chain, made Chinese NEVs and intelligent connected vehicles strongly competitive in the international market.”
The production of batteries, motors, and electric control products achieved fast development in China, as they are produced on a large scale and at low costs, Xu pointed out. The synergistic development of the upstream and downstream reaches of the industry brought benefits and promoted continuous innovation in the supply chain, he added.
The European Union is an important electric vehicle market, and Chinese companies are unlikely to give it up, Xu said, noting that Chinese EVs are competitive in Europe, so Chinese firms may avoid tariff and non-tariff barriers by speeding up direct investment in the continent.
（Picture: Veer）
