Chery’s latest data shows that in September, it exported 137,624 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 26.2%. This marks the fifth consecutive month that exports have exceeded 100,000 vehicles, maintaining its position as China’s leading auto exporter.
The automotive industry faces fierce competition, and exports face a complex and volatile landscape. Despite these challenges, Anhui Province will become China’s leading auto exporter by 2024.
What makes Anhui stand out on the global automotive trade stage? This is undoubtedly due to the “hard power” of automakers like Chery and BYD, which have consistently deepened their presence in overseas markets.
However, it must be recognized that in today’s complex environment, companies’ “going global” is more than just a simple business decision; it requires more tailored policy support and promotion. Anhui has conducted systematic exploration and experimentation in this regard.
This integrated approach of “mechanism + policy + platform” continues to effectively support automakers’ deep participation in global industrial division of labor and cooperation. It has also been cited by the Ministry of Commerce as a “model experience” for replication and promotion by provinces nationwide.
In this era of manufacturing’s “going global,” facing increasing challenges and uncertainties, it is precisely this way that government and businesses grow and achieve mutual success together. This may be the “soft power” factor that has enabled Anhui’s automobile exports to rank first in the country, and it is also a profound revelation.
01 Mechanical service
On average, a Chery-made vehicle is shipped overseas every 25 seconds. As of the end of September, Chery Group had accumulated over 17.72 million users worldwide, including over 5.43 million overseas.
As a leading Anhui auto exporter, Chery has a comprehensive dedicated service mechanism. This system leverages cross-departmental collaboration to address difficulties encountered by Chery in market development, international logistics, and cross-border settlement, helping to isolate country-specific trade risks and resolve trade bottlenecks.
Previously, Chery Group reported insufficient local logistics support, limited transportation efficiency, and high costs. Wuhu City conducted in-depth research and implemented targeted measures, developing a comprehensive “land, water, and rail” logistics solution. This involved extraordinary efforts to build a zero-distance base, open up sea routes, and connect to international routes.
These measures have relieved the company’s export bottlenecks and reduced Chery’s logistics costs by approximately 40 million yuan annually.
Currently, Anhui Province is home to seven complete vehicle manufacturers: Chery Group, NIO, Volkswagen Anhui, Hefei BYD, JAC Motors, Hefei Changan, and Hanma Technology. For these seven complete vehicle manufacturers’ export business, Anhui Province adopts a “one-company, one-policy” approach, providing customized services and measures to help them better navigate the risks and challenges of foreign trade. Anhui Province has organized 30 automakers, including Chery Automobile, and 54 prospective authorized export companies to apply for and receive approval for 2025 auto export licenses. It has also assisted eight automakers, including Chery, JAC, and Ankai, in applying for 15 batches of temporary auto export qualifications. It has also guided BYD in applying for export qualifications as a “non-independent legal entity” and General Import and Export as a “trading company.”
Many of these measures are firsts for Anhui Province, allowing the province to gradually explore more effective ways to assist and support enterprises within its regulatory framework.
At the same time, Anhui is fully supporting auto companies in achieving integrated trade and investment development, and continuing to consolidate its market advantages in key overseas markets.
02 Systematic support
Complete vehicle manufacturing, auto parts, new energy vehicle batteries… the automotive industry encompasses numerous sub-sectors. Furthermore, supportive policies from various departments, including industry and information technology, commerce, and finance, are extensive.
To address this situation, Anhui Province has strengthened policy coordination, transforming fragmented policy tools into systematic solutions, thereby providing institutional guarantees and driving force for the development of the automotive export industry.
Anhui Province has formulated a comprehensive package of policy measures to comprehensively support the development of the automotive industry, including developing new energy vehicle industry clusters, supporting high-quality development of auto exports, and supporting new energy vehicle trade cooperation.
In 2024, Anhui Province issued the “Implementation Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of the Province’s Automobile Distribution Industry.” This plan was jointly issued by 18 departments, including the Anhui Provincial Department of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Office of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Transportation, with each department responsible for its respective functions.
According to this plan, Anhui encourages leading vehicle manufacturers to accelerate the development of overseas production bases for complete vehicles and knockdown assembly in advantageous end-markets, such as RCEP member countries, South America, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.
The province will continue to deepen reforms in key areas and key links of customs clearance, implement simplified supervision of imported R&D samples and auto parts, and expand the competitiveness of export products.
The province will encourage vehicle and auto parts manufacturers to “go global,” establish differentiated development strategies and paths, strengthen coordination on key overseas market development and major overseas investments and mergers and acquisitions, and jointly build and share overseas service, international logistics, and supply chain systems to enhance their overseas competitiveness.
In implementing these policy measures, Anhui’s commerce department has provided special guidance to automotive industry chain companies such as Guoxuan High-tech in applying for national import interest subsidy funding projects, supporting them in introducing advanced equipment and upgrading production line technology.
Anhui Province also includes specific support in its foreign trade promotion policies for vehicle and power battery companies to participate in domestic and international exhibitions and obtain international product certification.
Thus, these various supporting policies have synergistically promoted the expansion of the automotive and parts industries into the international market. Currently, the export volume of the automotive industry cluster has exceeded 120 billion yuan.
03 Platform Thinking
The Central America (Mexico) International Auto Parts, Automotive Technology and Services Exhibition is one of the largest and most important auto parts and after-sales service industry exhibitions in Latin America.
In July of this year, leveraging the platform of the expo, Anhui Province held the 2025 Anhui Automotive and Parts Industry Exhibition in Mexico City. Twenty-eight companies from Anhui’s automotive industry chain showcased their expertise in Mexico City, collaborating to explore new markets.
Anhui Province emphasizes a platform-based approach to promote the better integration of global factors and resources with Anhui’s industrial needs and resource endowments, enabling Anhui’s automotive industry to participate more deeply in the global division of labor and cooperation. In recent years, Anhui Province has established multiple open platforms for international exchange and cooperation.
Further implementing the “Huidong Global” initiative, Anhui Province held six innovative “exhibition-within-an-exhibition” themed exhibitions for the Anhui automotive and parts industry abroad for the first time.
The Anhui Foreign Trade Comprehensive Service Platform provides comprehensive services, including trade matchmaking, full-process services, public services, and foreign trade agency services.
The platform has actively developed specialized services for used car exports and established a standardized export process covering vehicle source integration, testing and certification, cross-border logistics, and after-sales support, laying the foundation for serving the used car export business. The Anhui Enterprise International Economic and Trade Cooperation Alliance serves as a platform for cooperation and exchange in the “going global” initiative of enterprises. It aims to promote the rational and orderly overseas expansion of Anhui’s advantageous industries, deepen participation in global industrial division of labor and cooperation, and build new industrial competitive advantages through open development.
The Provincial Department of Commerce, in conjunction with the alliance, has established 33 overseas business service outlets in key regions such as ASEAN, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, leveraging the overseas offices of key “going global” enterprises in the province, such as Chery Holding and China Railway Fourth Engineering Bureau.
Chery Automobile has a production base in Malaysia and subsidiaries in Indonesia, Brazil, and Uzbekistan, collaborating with local OEM (original equipment manufacturer) companies to manufacture and sell passenger vehicles.
Driven by leading enterprises and giving full play to the bridge role of the alliance, Anhui’s automobile industry chain companies are using the “grouping” approach to accelerate the implementation of overseas production base projects, moving from “going out” of products to “going in” of the entire chain of research, production and sales.
