Cui Dongshu: By 2025, the export of complete vehicles by car companies will increase significantly! The export of domestically-produced cars will increase by 21% year-on-year.

In 2025, China's automobile export industry structure shows a significantly optimized trend, with increased concentration of leading companies, the rise of independent passenger car enterprises, passenger car enterprises becoming the core growth engine, and the further highlighting of the advantages of integrated industrial chain. In the future, with the continuous improvement of overseas production capacity layout, deepening of technological research and development, and promotion of diversified market strategies, China's automobile exports are expected to continue to maintain a growth trend. However, attention should also be paid to challenges such as overseas trade barriers, supply chain risks, and intensified global market competition. It is suggested that enterprises increase investment in core technological research and development, optimize export products, strengthen localization of production and services, further enhance the discourse power in the global industrial chain, strengthen industry collaboration, jointly address external risks, and promote the high-quality development of China's automobile exports. 1. Overall situation of automobile exports In 2025, China's automobile exports show the core features of "rising in quantity and price, and optimizing structure." The total export volume of domestically produced cars from manufacturers reached 7.1 million units for the whole year, an increase of 21% year-on-year, which is consistent with the growth rate in 2024, maintaining its position as the world's largest automobile exporter. This reflects a significant increase in the value-added of China's exported vehicles. In terms of market segmentation, passenger cars have become the core engine of export growth, far exceeding the growth rate of commercial vehicles. The main export destinations are still Europe, ASEAN, and South America, with a good proportion of exports to countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, and the significant effect of diversified market layout. The trend of "stability followed by growth" in automobile exports in 2025, with stable growth in the first three quarters and strong export growth in the fourth quarter, reflects the industry's strong resilience. 2. Independent strength and joint venture improvement in automobile exports In 2025, there have been significant changes in the structure of China's automobile export enterprises, with the core trends of "increased concentration of leading companies, the rise of private car enterprises, and a decrease in market share of foreign-invested car enterprises." Industry resources have further concentrated towards top enterprises with core technology and global deployment capabilities; independent car enterprises have performed particularly well, with their export share increasing from 22% in 2024 to 24% in 2025, becoming the main driver of export growth. The export performance of joint venture car companies continues to strengthen, with some joint venture car companies becoming global production bases. The export share of foreign-invested car companies in China has decreased from 38% in 2022 to 27% in 2025, due to their global production capacity adjustments and pressure from local brand competition. Looking at enterprise types in detail, the proportion of new energy car enterprises in export enterprises has increased significantly. Car companies with complete industrial chain advantages are more competitive, and the advantages of integrated industrial chain continue to be highlighted. 3. Analysis of export performance of automobile groups In 2025, the export performance of China's major automobile groups showed significant differentiation, with the leading groups playing a prominent role. BYD Company Limited ranked first in the industry with an export volume of 1.05 million units in the new energy sector, especially performing well in high-end markets such as Europe and Japan; SAIC Motor Corporation exported 950,000 units, relying on its joint venture brands such as SAIC GM and its independent brands Roewe and MG, achieving coordinated development of fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles, and maintaining a leading position in the ASEAN and South American markets. Great Wall Motor and GEELY AUTO have become important forces in export growth. Guangzhou Automobile Group focuses on the Middle East and African markets, with strong export performance in new energy car models; Great Wall Motor focuses on the European market, maintaining strong growth; GEELY AUTO has made breakthroughs in the Southeast Asian market with brands like Lynk & Co and Geometry, doubling its exports from the previous year. It is worth noting that some small and medium-sized car groups have achieved breakthroughs through differentiated layouts, focusing on commercial vehicles, special vehicles, and other niche areas, with export growth far exceeding the industry average. However, their overall market share remains relatively low, and the "Matthew effect" in the industry continues to intensify. 4. Analysis of export performance of automobile whole vehicle enterprises In 2025, the export performance of different types of whole vehicle enterprises varied, with leading enterprises showing strong performance. In terms of specific areas, the export performance of new energy passenger car enterprises was the most outstanding, with companies like BYD Company Limited, Lixiang, and Xiaopeng showing strong year-on-year export growth. The export growth of traditional fuel car enterprises has slowed down, but it still maintains a large scale. Companies like SAIC Passenger Vehicle and Chongqing Changan Automobile maintain their market share through model upgrades, with their export models mainly concentrated in the economy sedan and SUV sectors, focusing on emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa. Commercial vehicle enterprises have shown stable export performance, with companies like Sinotruk Jinan Truck and BAIC Foton Motor ranking among the top globally in the heavy-duty and light-duty truck sectors. In terms of competitiveness, independent research and development capability has become the core support for the export of whole vehicle enterprises, significantly enhancing their product competitiveness. In addition, the continuous enhancement of the global service capabilities of enterprises, with a significant increase in the number of overseas after-sales service outlets, has effectively improved overseas customer satisfaction. This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Cui Dongshu"; GMTEight Editor: Wenwen.