Exports this month: 99,000 units
Month-on-month change: +8.6%
Percentage of China’s total automobile exports: 10.6%
Cumulative export volumes: 365,000 units
Top exporting province to Africa: Anhui (15,000 units)
After exports to Africa reached a record high of 116,000 units in December 2025, the market was initially concerned that this had exhausted future demand.
However, April data shows that the African market is far from peaking: exports reached 99,000 units, up 8.6% month-on-month and 110.6% year-on-year, accounting for 10.6% of China’s total automobile exports.
Anhui, Shandong, and Chongqing ranked as the top three exporting provinces, while Algeria remained the largest trading partner with 23,000 units.
01 Monthly Overview: After consolidating at high levels, the market rallied again, with year-on-year growth doubling being the biggest highlight.
In April 2026, China exported 99,000 vehicles to Africa, not only rebounding 8.6% month-on-month from 91,000 in March, but also achieving a year-on-year increase of 110.6% from only 47,000 in the same period last year.
Cumulative exports for the first four months have already reached 365,000 units, 2.2 times the 163,000 units in the same period last year, making it well within reach to reach one million units for the whole year.
Looking back at the trend over the past 12 months, a clear “oscillating upward” curve emerges.
Since surpassing 82,000 units in August 2025, monthly exports have remained above 80,000 units for nine consecutive months.
Although there was a decline from a high of 116,000 units at the beginning of 2026, a “V-shaped rebound” ensued: 96,000 units in January, a brief dip to 78,000 units in February, a rebound to 91,000 units in March, and a further surge to 99,000 units in April.
Monthly exports, fluctuating between 96,000 units in January, 78,000 units in February, 91,000 units in March, and 99,000 units in April, have returned to an upward trend.
02 Product Structure: Passenger vehicles are the driving force, while electrification is still in its infancy.
In this month’s exports to non-African countries, passenger vehicles accounted for 53.7% and commercial vehicles accounted for 46,000 units, almost evenly splitting the market. However, passenger vehicles significantly outperformed commercial vehicles with a month-on-month growth rate of 11.3%, becoming the core engine driving this month’s growth.
The real story lies in the powertrain.
Electrification in the African market is still in its very early stages: of the total 99,000 units exported, only 9,000 are electric vehicles, a penetration rate as low as 9.1%.
Of these, 9,000 are passenger cars, while only 1,000 are commercial vehicles; the remaining 45,000 are pure gasoline-powered vehicles, constituting the absolute majority.
This contrasts sharply with the 30%-60% electrification rates in Europe and Southeast Asia, revealing that Africa is currently dominated by gasoline-powered vehicles.
45,000 passenger cars and 45,000 commercial vehicles are gasoline-powered.
For sub-Saharan Africa, where charging infrastructure is severely lacking and power supply is unstable, the practical rationale for this product structure is self-evident.
03 Trading Partners: Algeria accounts for 23.2%, followed by South Africa, indicating a high degree of regional fragmentation.
The top ten African purchasing countries account for a high concentration of 76.5%, but the market is far from being monopolized by any single country.
Algeria leads the pack with 23,000 units (23.2%), ahead of second-place South Africa (17,000 units, 17.1%) by 6.1 percentage points.
Egypt ranks third with 9,000 units (9.1%), while Ghana (8,000 units, 8.1%) and Nigeria (5,000 units, 5.0%) rank fourth and fifth respectively.
In terms of regional distribution, the three North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco) purchased a total of 36,000 units, accounting for 36.3% of the total in Africa; South Africa alone purchased 17,000 units in Southern Africa; and Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa purchased a combined 17,000 units.
This multi-engine driven pattern effectively mitigates the risk of fluctuations in a single market.
Interestingly, resource-rich countries such as Guinea (3,000 units) and Tanzania (3,000 units) have quietly entered the top ten in terms of purchasing volume, suggesting that infrastructure and transportation demand driven by mining investment is becoming a new growth engine for Chinese commercial vehicle exports to Africa.
04 Exporting Provinces: Anhui Takes the Top Spot for the First Time, Western Provinces See Collective Rise in Ranking.
This month saw a significant shift in the export landscape: Anhui province, with 15,000 units (15.1%), surpassed Shandong’s 14,000 units (14.1%) and Chongqing’s 12,000 units (12.1%), becoming the top Chinese province exporting to Africa for the first time.
These three provinces combined contributed 41,000 units, accounting for 41.3% of the total exports to Africa.
This ranking shift is no accident. Anhui, leveraging the deep cultivation of North African markets like Algeria and Egypt by automakers such as Chery, has continuously expanded its market share in Africa in recent years.
Shandong, relying on its advantages in commercial vehicles and the geographical advantage of Qingdao Port, maintains a strong presence in markets such as South Africa and Nigeria.
Chongqing, as an inland municipality, accounts for 12.1% of exports to Africa, reflecting the growing ripple effect of the China-Europe Railway Express’s southern corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative.
In the second tier, Zhejiang (11,000 units, 11.1%) and Hubei (6,000 units, 6.0%) are close behind.
The emergence of Hebei (5,000 units) and Jiangxi (3,000 units), two central provinces, has broken the previous monopoly of eastern coastal provinces in the top ten, indicating that inland provinces are carving out new territory in the African market.
