China surpasses Japan as world's top auto exporter

China has overtaken Japan as the world's top vehicle exporter. The rise of EVs and increased demand for their vehicles in Russia is the main drive behind the big numbers.

China has been a significant player in the global automotive industry and has experienced rapid growth over the past few decades. While China is known for its large domestic automotive market, it has also expanded its presence in the international automotive trade.

This expansion to the international automotive market has done them well because according to Nikkei Asia, China has just overtaken Japan as the world's top auto exporter.

Nikkei Asia said this historical moment is spurred on by the rise of electric vehicles and increased demand for their vehicles in Russia. Chery Automobile and Great Wall Motor in particular have expanded sales in Russia and are doing very well there.

This is not a big surprise as they have filled the void left by popular auto manufacturers such as Toyota and Volkswagen, who have shut down Russian factories and pulled out of the market after the Russian-Ukrainian war began in 2022.

Nikkei Asia reported that China's automobile exports for the period between January-March jumped 58% from a year earlier to 1.07 million units.

Japan only exported 950,000 vehicles during the same quarter, up 6% on the year, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

New energy vehicles have also helped China grow their vehicle export numbers, where even the likes of Teslas are exporting vehicles out of China to countries such as Canada. 

Nikkei Asia also mentioned that Belgium, Australia and Thailand were the top destinations of Chinese-made new energy vehicles. Chinese EVs are so popular in Thailand, to the point where they are cornering the EV market where BYD and Neta are the top-selling EVs in the land of smiles.