China’s Car Exports Soar As Electrified Vehicles Near 50% Domestic Market Share

New car sales have declined nationwide in China, but April saw exports reaching a record high, according to sales data from the China Passenger Car Association.

In April, domestic sales in China dropped by 5.8% compared to the previous year, amounting to 1.55 million units. Additionally, sales decreased by 9.6% compared to March, which had seen relatively strong performance with a 5.7% increase over March 2023 and a 53% surge over February 2024, a month marked by sluggish sales due to the Chinese New Year festivities.

Read: US Set To Quadruple Chinese EV Tariffs To 100%

Interestingly, a deeper analysis of the data shows that car exports from China surged by 38% year-on-year to reach 417,000 units in April. This increase follows a 39% jump in exports observed in March, underscoring the rapid spread of Chinese-built cars across the globe.

According to the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, domestic automakers will need to choose whether to expand overseas or risk losing market share in the local market, Reuters reports.

New energy vehicles (NEVs), encompassing Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), continue to gain traction nationwide. In the previous month, these vehicles accounted for 43.5% of all new car sales in the country.

Notably, NEVs secured over a 50% market share during the initial half of April. Surprisingly, the surge in NEV demand was primarily attributed to a rapid rise in PHEV sales, rather than BEVs, as one might expect.

In April, BEV sales jumped 12.1% compared to April, while sales of PHEVs swelled by 64.2% last month. This came on the back of a strong March for PHEVs, where sales rose by 75.4% compared to a 10.5% increase in sales of BEVs. BYD benefited greatly from this rise in demand with PHEVs accounting for 57% of its sales in April.

Chinese car manufacturers accounted for nearly 70% of global PHEV sales in the first quarter.