China comes just shy of Japan as the world's largest car exporter
- Japanese customs data showed the country exported 5.97 million vehicles last year, more than the 5.22 million vehicle exports that China customs data reported.
- More than 70% of China’s car exports in 2023 were of gasoline-powered vehicles, according to the Ministry of Commerce, noting that new energy vehicle exports were growing rapidly.
- Many of those gasoline-powered cars went to Russia, said Sarah Tan, economist at Moody’s Analytics.
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China failed to replace Japan as the world’s largest exporter of cars in 2023, despite coming close to doing so, data released this month showed.
Japanese customs data showed the country exported 5.97 million vehicles last year, more than the 5.22 million vehicle exports that China customs data reported.
More than 70% of China’s car exports in 2023 were of gasoline-powered vehicles, according to the Ministry of Commerce, noting that new energy vehicle exports were growing rapidly.
Many of those gasoline-powered cars went to Russia, said Sarah Tan, economist at Moody’s Analytics.
“After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many auto manufacturers had left the country only to have that gap filled by Chinese manufacturers,” she said. “In the first eleven months of 2023, auto shipments to Russia rose about six times that of 2022 in value terms.”
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