China’s monthly car exports surge past 1mn as overall trade soars

China’s monthly car exports rose past 1mn cars in June, a new record that comes as part of an overall surge in trade that will heighten tensions with partners such as the EU.

Shipments of cars rose 71.2 per cent from a year earlier to 1.06mn, putting the country on track to export more than 10mn cars this year, up from 7.1mn last year and more than double the 4.9mn in 2023.

Overall exports jumped 27 per cent year-on-year in June, compared with 19.4 per cent in May and a forecast of 18.2 per cent in an analyst survey by Reuters, as it also shipped more hardware for the AI boom.

Imports jumped 36 per cent, figures from the General Administration of Customs of China showed.

China’s trade surplus was $576bn in the first half, down 4.7 per cent from a year earlier.

Wang Jun, vice-minister of the National Bureau of Statistics, said the surge in electric vehicles was in line with the global “low-carbon transition”, which was fuelling demand for “China’s green products”.

Lyu Daliang, a China Customs spokesperson, added: “We are not only the world’s largest exporter but also the world’s second-largest importer.”

China’s exports of rare earths in June fell 34 per cent year on year and 6.4 per cent in the first half, following tight export controls on the minerals, which are essential for high-technology products.

China dominates production of rare earths and its controls are a particular source of tension with trading partners.

The NBS’s Wang said China’s exports of green energy-related products such as lithium batteries and wind turbines increased 37.6 per cent and 35.6 per cent, respectively, during the first half.

China’s imports were boosted by chips. It imported 53.7bn units of integrated circuits in June 2026, a 6.8 per cent increase from a year earlier. In the first half of the year, chip imports rose 8.1 per cent.

The Chinese car industry’s pivot to exports comes as domestic sales slow sharply following the phaseout of EV subsidies and decline in fuel-powered car demand.

Slower domestic sales have led Chinese and foreign car brands to respond with more exports, which have prompted the EU and others to impose steep tariffs on Chinese car imports.

The wave of Chinese exports has been driven by lower-cost cars boasting superior software, further threatening carmakers from Japan, South Korea, Europe and the US.

It comes despite accusations in Europe and other markets that China is using unfair and illegal subsidies to support localised manufacturing.

The early years of China’s automotive export boom, in the early 2020s, were dominated by state-owned manufacturers shipping cheap fuel-powered cars to markets such as Russia and Mexico and other developing markets.

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As recently as 2021, EVs accounted for only about 15 per cent of China’s car exports, but the dynamics are rapidly changing as China’s EV makers launch a global assault.

Among the companies driving the export boom, BYD sold 175,000 cars overseas in June, up 95 per cent year on year. The group’s foreign sales accounted for a record 43 per cent of its total production last month.

Geely reported overseas sales of 102,874 vehicles in June, up 157 per cent, marking the first time its monthly exports exceeded 100,000 units.

State-backed Chery exported overseas sales of 191,062 in June, an increase of 80 per cent. Chery’s sales last month set a new record for Chinese carmakers’ monthly exports for the fourth consecutive month.

Aside from electric vehicles, electric railway locomotives and electric motorcycle and bicycle shipments increased by 45.1 per cent and 31.5 per cent, respectively, Wang said.

Data visualisation by Haohsiang Ko in Hong Kong