In 2024, China’s total vehicle exports reached 5.859 million units, a year-on-year increase of 19.3%, making China the world’s largest car exporter for the second consecutive year. Among these, the export of new energy vehicles (NEVs) increased by 6.7%, reaching a historic high of 1.284 million units.

Despite the increased global market uncertainty in 2025, China’s car exports continued to grow. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in the first half of 2025, exports totaled 3.083 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%. Of these, 2.581 million were passenger cars, and 502,000 were commercial vehicles, showing year-on-year growth of 10.3% and 10.5%, respectively.

New energy vehicles have remained the main driving force behind this growth. In the first half of 2025, NEV exports reached 1.06 million units, a significant increase of 75.2%. Among them, 1.011 million were passenger vehicles, showing a 71.3% growth. By vehicle type, pure electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 670,000 units, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for 390,000 units, showing year-on-year increases of 40.2% and 210%, respectively.

Top 10 Car Exporters in the First Half of 2025

In the first half of 2025, there were notable shifts in the rankings of the top car exporters. The rankings for positions 4 to 10 are as follows:

• 
  
• Changan: 299,000 units (+4.9%, down 1 place)
  
• Geely: 236,000 units (-2.5%, down 1 place)
  
• Great Wall: 198,000 units (-2.0%, unchanged)
  
• BAIC: 141,000 units (+20.5%, up 2 places)
  
• Dongfeng: 115,000 units (+2.7%, up 2 places)
  
• JAC: 107,000 units (-10.8%, down 1 place)
  
• Tesla: 101,000 units (-31.8%, down 3 places)
  

Tesla, a global leader in electric vehicles, continues to rely heavily on its Shanghai Gigafactory as an export hub and manufacturing base, with an annual capacity exceeding 950,000 units. By June 2025, Tesla had delivered over 8 million electric vehicles globally, with the Shanghai facility contributing nearly half of that, having produced over 3 million vehicles.

However, due to growing consumer resistance in Europe and North America driven by Elon Musk’s controversial stance on environmental issues, as well as increasing competition and declining demand for older EV models, Tesla’s performance has declined. In the first half of 2025, Tesla delivered 720,800 vehicles, a 13.3% decrease compared to the previous year. Its Shanghai facility saw a drop in exports to 101,000 units, nearly a third less than the 148,000 units exported during the same period last year.

Highlights from Key Exporting Companies

• SAIC Motor: Ranked third with 438,000 units exported, maintaining stability. On May 15, SAIC’s logistics subsidiary, Anji Logistics, launched the maiden voyage of the “Anji Ansheng” roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel, significantly expanding SAIC’s global logistics capacity.
  
  
• BYD: Ranked second with 472,000 units exported, a remarkable 132% increase, surpassing its total export volume of 433,000 units from the previous year. BYD’s new energy vehicles have now entered over 100 countries and regions across six continents, further strengthening its global market share.
  
  
• Chery: Ranked first with 548,000 units exported in the first half of 2025, marking a 3.1% increase. Chery’s core models, including the Tiggo 5X, Tiggo 7, Arrizo 5, and Tiggo 8, have been sold to nearly 120 countries and regions such as Russia, Brazil, UAE, Italy, and Australia.
  

BYD Expands Its Global Footprint

BYD is accelerating its international expansion. In the first half of 2025, the company delivered five new RoRo vessels, including the “Hefei,” “Shenzhen,” “Xi’an,” “Changsha,” and “Zhengzhou” ships, forming a fleet of 8 self-operated vessels, significantly reducing order delivery times. BYD has also established production bases in Thailand and Uzbekistan, further enhancing its global presence.

Moreover, BYD has established its European headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, which will focus on sales and after-sales service, vehicle certification and testing, and local design and development of models, further boosting its competitiveness in the European market.