China’s passenger car (up to 9 seats) exports reached a record high of 1.303 million units in the first quarter of 2025.However, the following changes have also occurred:
One is a 15.4% year-on-year increase in exported passenger cars in the first quarter of 2025, but an 11% decline from the fourth quarter of 2024 (last year’s 4Q exports were 1,465,442 units);
Secondly, the structure of exported vehicles has changed. 657,230 units of conventionally-powered vehicles were exported in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year, a decrease of 28% from the fourth quarter of 2024, accounting for 50.4% of the total (57% in the same period of last year); and 403,718 units of purely-electric vehicles were exported, an increase of 4% year-on-year, accounting for 31% of all exported passenger vehicles (34% in the same period of last year);Hybrid car exports (plug-in and non-plug-in) exports 242,093 units, a year-on-year surge of 146%, an increase of 38% over the last quarter, accounting for 19% of the proportion of exported passenger cars (the same period last year, the proportion of only 9%), of which the plug-in hybrid exports 154,109 units, an increase of 163% year-on-year, and non-plug-in hybrid exports 87,984 units, an increase of 120% year-on-year;
The total export value of passenger cars in the first quarter of 2025 was US$19.1 billion, the same as the same period last year, which means that the export volume increased but the export value did not increase significantly, and the export value decreased by 13% compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. Among them, the export of traditional power passenger cars was US$8.08 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4%; the export of pure electric vehicles was US$6.53 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 19%; the export of plug-in hybrid vehicles was US$3.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 78%; and the export of non-plug-in hybrid vehicles was US$1.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 58%.
The major destinations (regions) for China’s passenger car exports in Q1 2025 are as follows:
Europe (including Turkey Cyprus and Israel) 436,348 units, down 3.9% year-on-year; 33.5% share (40.2% a year ago);
OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) 38 countries 544,588 units, an increase of 17.4% year-on-year; accounting for 41.8% of the total (41.1% a year earlier)
Asia 491,225 units, up 33% year-on-year; 37.7% share (vs. 32.8% a year ago);
Latin America 244,635 units, up 20% year-on-year; 18.8% share (vs. 18% a year ago);
198,285 units in the EU27, up 16.3% year-on-year; 15.2% share (15.1% a year earlier);
North America 18,061 units, down 28% year-over-year; 1.4% share (vs. 2.2% a year ago);
Oceania 51,103 units, up 30% year-on-year; 3.9% share (vs. 3.5% a year ago);
51,103 units in Africa, up 70% year-on-year; 4.7% share (3.2% a year earlier)
In the first quarter of this year, the top 10 destinations for passenger car exports were, in order:
Mexico replaced Russia as the top destination for China’s auto exports, up 32% year-on-year to 115,428 units;
Russia fell 40% year-on-year to 95,195 units, with Chinese-branded cars already accounting for 63% of Russia’s market share, and Russia has raised its recycling fees and import tariffs since the second half of last year, all of which have led to a decline in China’s auto exports;
Belgium edged up to 67,549 units;
Saudi Arabia increased 36% year-on-year to 56,069 units.
UK down 9% year-on-year to 50,480 units;
Brazil fell 15% year-on-year to 49,464 units;
Australia increased 30% year-on-year to 48,455 units;
Turkey increased 10% year-on-year to 39,543 units;
Philippines increased 12% year-on-year to 39,166 units.
China’s pure electric vehicle export growth has slowed down due to the impact of tariff policies of the EU, the United States, Canada, Brazil and other countries.
China exported 193,682 units of pure electric vehicles to 38 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries in the first quarter of 2025, down 5% year-on-year;
Exports to Asia were 186,311 units, up 14% year-on-year;
Exports to Europe (including Turkey Cyprus and Israel) were 147,483 units, down 5.7%;
Exports of 110,150 units to the EU and UK28, down 22.6% (including 87,634 units to the EU27, down 22%);
Exports of 44,763 units to Latin America increased by 25% year-on-year;
Exports of 15,571 units to Oceania were down 19% year-on-year;
Exports of 2,429 units to North America were down 78% year-on-year;
Exported 7,161 units to Africa, up 210% year-on-year
Belgium remained the top destination for China’s pure electric vehicle exports in the first quarter of 2025, but fell 29% year-on-year to 44,210 units;
Thailand was down 6% year-on-year to 30,417 units;
The Philippines was third with 28,470 units;
Turkey increased 353% year-on-year to 22,775 units;
UK down 25% year-on-year to 22,516 units.
The other important markets are:
Mexico increased 360% year-on-year to 22,201 units;
India increased 45% year-on-year to 20,052 units;
UAE increased by 5% year-on-year to 18,070 units;
Indonesia jumped 88 percent to 15,778 units;
Australia was down 20% year-on-year to 14,861 units;
Brazil fell 56% year-on-year to 10,600 units;
Slovenia increased by 62% year-on-year to 9,202 units;
Surprisingly, the U.S. increased 35% year-over-year to 2,137 units, but the number was too small.
Hybrid vehicle exports gained 146% year-on-year growth, with the top 10 destinations in that order:
27,912 units in Brazil, up 21% year-on-year; and
Mexico 26,637 units, up 151% year-on-year; and
UAE 24,674 units, up 355% year-on-year; and
21,447 units in Belgium, up 644% year-on-year; and
18,525 units in the UK, up 61% year-on-year; and
15,579 units in Spain, up 1,310% year-on-year; and
15,286 units in Israel, compared to 3 units in the same period last year; and
Italy 11,751 units, up 1,041% year-on-year; and
Turkey 9,437 units, up 559% year-on-year; and
Australia 7,636 units, up 240% year-on-year; and
In the first quarter of 2025, exports of conventionally-powered (gasoline and diesel) passenger cars amounted to 657,000 units, a slight increase of 2.3% year-on-year; however, they declined by 28% from the fourth quarter of 2024 on a year-on-year basis.The main destinations (regions) for their exports are:
Greater Middle East 151,000 units, up 55% year-on-year and down 9% sequentially from the prior year’s fourth quarter;
Latin America 143,000 units, up 7.5% year-over-year and 11% sequentially;
Russia 90,000 units, down 42% year-on-year and 68% sequentially;
EU & UK 59,000 units, down 6% year-on-year and 12% sequentially;
ASEAN 41,000 units, surging 33% year-on-year and down 11% sequentially;
12,000 units in North America, up 22% year-over-year and down 57% sequentially;
51,000 units in Africa, up 52% year-on-year and down slightly by 4.5% sequentially;
Central Asia 44,000 units, up 10% year-on-year and down 18% sequentially.
Specifically for countries or regions, the top 10 destinations are, in order:
Russia 90,176 units;
Mexico 66,590 units, down 7.3%;
UAE 59,435 units, up 102%;
Saudi Arabia 53,650 units, up 32%;
Kazakh 28,399 units, up 69% year-on-year;
Australia 25,958 units, up 59%;
Malaysia 21,091 units, up 18%;
20,844 units in Chile, up 38% year-on-year;
Italy 18,737 units, down 26%;
Belarus 18,212 units, down 21% year-on-year;
Also according to data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan exported 1,239,411 units of passenger cars in the first quarter of 2025, slightly higher than the same period last year.Of these, used vehicles amounted to 336,495 units (estimated) and new vehicle exports amounted to 902,916 units.
The chart below compares China and Japan’s automobile exports:
