With China's automobile production and sales ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, China's automobile exports have also achieved a leapfrog breakthrough and become the world's largest automobile exporter. Behind this, more and more Chinese brand car companies with core competitiveness are emerging on the international stage and actively participating in the global automobile market competition. However, opportunities and challenges often coexist, Chinese brands should adhere to long-term doctrine, establish a long-term development concept of seeking long-term, tree brand credibility.

Since the founding of New China 75 years ago, China's automobile industry from scratch, from small to large; In the past 75 years, China's automobile market has developed vigorously, from weak to strong. Especially in the past decade, in the wave of transformation of the global automotive industry, independent brands have emerged with the help of the new energy track, multinational car companies have leveraged the Chinese market to accelerate the transformation, and China's automotive industry has ushered in a rare opportunity to become a "leader". To this end, the China Economic Network Auto Channel has launched a series of reports, a comprehensive and systematic review and inventory, and launched the sixth article today: Leap-forward breakthrough of automobile exports, and Chinese brands have opened a new era of diversified "going to sea".

According to the Nikkei Chinese Website recently reported that data released by the Japan Automobile Industry Association show that from January to June 2024, Japan's automobile exports were 2.01 million units, slightly down from the same period last year. According to the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first six months of this year, China's automobile exports were 2.793 million units, an increase of 30.5% over the same period last year, and 780,000 units higher than Japan. This is following the first half of last year and the whole year, China's auto exports once again surpassed Japan, continue to rank first in the global auto exports. Nikkei Chinese website said that the export gap between Japan and China is widening.

In recent years, with China's automobile production and sales ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, and the production and sales of new energy vehicles ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, Chinese brands have been widely recognized by the market with rich product types and excellent product quality thanks to the "lane overtaking" of new energy vehicles, and their market share has been continuously broken through and their influence has continued to increase. And promote Chinese cars, especially new energy vehicles, to accelerate "going out".

Leapfrog breakthrough, ranking the largest automobile exporter

Data from the General Administration of Customs compiled by the China Automobile Association show that in 2021, China's total automobile exports exceeded 2 million units for the first time, reaching 2,015 million units, surpassing South Korea and ranking behind Japan and Germany. Among them, 310,000 new energy vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of three times. In 2022, China's automobile exports reached 3.11 million units, an increase of 54.4%, surpassing Germany to become the world's second largest automobile exporter; Exports of new energy vehicles climbed to 679,000 units, up 1.2 times year-on-year.

In 2023, China's auto exports crossed two million steps, reaching 5.22 million units, an increase of 57.4%, breaking Japan's seven consecutive years of auto exports first, among the world's largest auto exporter; China's new energy vehicle exports also further climbed to 1.203 million units, an increase of 77.6%.

Since the beginning of this year, China's automobile exports have continued to maintain a good momentum, with the export volume reaching 3.773 million units from January to August, an increase of 28.3%. Among them, 818,000 new energy vehicles were exported, an increase of 12.6%. The CAAM expects China's auto exports to increase by another 600,000 units in 2024 compared to 2023.

In this regard, Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Association, said that as China's automobile industry moves from growth to maturity, the overall growth rate of the domestic market has begun to slow down, and China's automobile industry is facing new opportunities for "going to sea" and upgrading. "At present, China's new energy vehicles are developing rapidly in overseas markets, leading the global transition to electrification, and in the development process of China's auto industry from big to strong, 'going to sea' has become an indispensable part."

Emerging, Chinese brands diversified "go to sea"

It is worth noting that behind the continuous breakthrough of China's automobile export scale, more and more Chinese brand car companies with core competitiveness are emerging on the international stage and actively participating in the global automobile market competition. At the same time, the way of "going to sea" of Chinese brands is becoming more and more diversified, through the construction of international marketing system, investment in factory construction, brand acquisition, joint venture cooperation and other ways, continue to promote the localization of overseas markets and accelerate the international production capacity layout.

As the global and China's new energy vehicle sales "double" champion, BYD in recent years in the development of globalization continues to achieve breakthroughs, is gradually from the initial battery, electronic business "sea", as well as new energy buses, buses and other products dominated by commercial vehicles "sea", developed into a new round of passenger cars as the core product "sea".

Today, BYD's new energy vehicles have spread across six continents, 88 countries and regions around the world, and has passenger car production bases overseas. On July 4 this year, BYD held the completion ceremony of the Thai factory and the 8 million new energy vehicles off the assembly line in Rayong Province, Thailand, thus opening a new chapter in BYD's globalization. As of August, BYD has sold more than 263,000 vehicles in overseas markets this year, up 125% year-on-year, according to official data from BYD.

As one of the earliest Chinese brands to "go to sea", the Great Wall opened the prelude of brand "going to sea" by exporting pickups to the Middle East as early as 1997. For more than 20 years, the Great Wall has adhered to the "long-term doctrine", focused on the "ONE GWM" brand strategy, and gradually formed an "ecological sea" system integrating research, production, supply and marketing.

Mu Feng, president of Great Wall Motor, said in an interview with China Economic Net that the early stage was more of an opportunistic market and a trade type of "going to sea". From last year, the Great Wall began to ecological sea, service first, truly oriented to local consumers, including the overall derivative ecology, belongs to the strategic sea.

At present, Great Wall Motor has more than 14 million global users, overseas cumulative sales of more than 1.7 million, overseas sales channels more than 1,300, forming a full-power, full-category, full-grade layout. In 2023, the overseas sales of Great Wall exceeded 300,000 for the first time; From January to September this year, the Great Wall sold 324,244 vehicles overseas, which has exceeded the overseas sales of the whole year last year.

In addition, Chinese brands such as Chery, Geely, SAIC and GAC are also actively laying out overseas markets and achieving good development. Xu Haidong, deputy chief engineer of CAAM, said that the rapid growth of China's auto exports is closely related to the continuous improvement of overseas market demand and the competitiveness of Chinese auto brands.

Opportunities and challenges coexist, and adhere to long-term principles

As the world's largest automobile exporter, China's automobile industry has a certain competitiveness in the world, has a broad prospect of "going to sea", but opportunities and challenges often coexist.

"China's automobile to the international is still in its infancy, although there is a momentum of annual growth in automobile exports, some enterprises in foreign investment to build factories to produce new energy vehicles have also achieved initial results." However, due to the lack of solid foundation, lack of experience, severe external environment, and the formation of real international competition and other contradictions and problems, there are still many uncertain factors." Former deputy director of the Automobile Department of the Ministry of Machinery Industry, former executive vice chairman and secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, researcher level senior engineer Zhang Shulin told China Economic Network reporter.

In Zhang Shulin's view, how to establish a long-term development concept for long-term development and brand credibility, how to deal with the complex and severe international environment and increasing trade barriers, how to deal with the competitive relations and principles of multiple enterprises in the same country, and how to solve the difficulties in financing external development are urgent problems for the international development of Chinese auto companies.

Chen Shihua suggested that Chinese enterprises need to formulate long-term overseas development strategies and effectively guide enterprises to "go to sea" from the national level; The government should support enterprises to participate in overseas exhibitions and build systematic capabilities, including improving after-sales service and financial support; Establish an overseas policy and regulation exchange system, provide market data and analysis, and provide strong guidance for overseas development of enterprises; Improve the certification system and international standards, reduce the cost of export certification; Strengthen the awareness of corporate responsibility, pay attention to overseas compliance issues, and establish a good Chinese brand image.

"Internationalization is the only way for automobile companies to become stronger, better and bigger, and to become world-class multinational companies." The fundamental purpose of Chinese brand car enterprises to implement internationalization strategy is to continuously improve the competitiveness of products and services by participating in international market competition, and build world-class enterprises and brands." China Automotive Center senior chief expert, China Automotive Strategy and Policy Research Center chief engineer Wu Songquan said, therefore, should adhere to long-term rather than short-termism, adhere to localism rather than opportunism, adhere to linkage cooperation rather than going it alone, adhere to positive-sum thinking, user thinking rather than zero-sum thinking, tunnel thinking.