When the domestic market “volume” to the extreme, the overseas market has become the Chinese car companies must fight.
In the first half of this year, China’s auto exports amounted to 3.083 million units, up 10.4% year-on-year, ranking first in the world for three consecutive years.Among them, 1.06 million new energy vehicles were exported, up 75.2% year-on-year, and plug-in hybrid models increased by as much as 210% year-on-year.
July is on fire, and the overseas layout of Chinese automobile enterprises is also hot.BYD’s seventh self-built ro-ro vessel “Zhengzhou” was formally delivered to the line, the first “Seagull” came off the production line of its Brazilian factory, Dongfeng Motor opened its first brand showroom in Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade, and SAIC Datsun harvested a large order from the global logistics giant DHL.300 Pure Electric Logistics Vehicles Shipped to Europe ……July is on fire, and the overseas layout of Chinese automobile enterprises is also hot.BYD’s seventh self-built ro-ro vessel “Zhengzhou” was formally delivered to the line, the first “Seagull” came off the production line of its Brazilian factory, Dongfeng Motor opened its first brand showroom in Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade, and SAIC Datsun harvested a large order from the global logistics giant DHL.300 Pure Electric Logistics Vehicles Shipped to Europe ……
Global Market Landscape Fracture: New Opportunities for Chinese Automakers
The global automotive market landscape is undergoing a deep reorganization in 2025.Relevant data show that global sales of new energy passenger cars reached 1.8 million units in June, up 24% year-on-year, but regional differentiation is obvious.
China continued to lead with a growth rate of 1.11 million units and 28%, followed by Europe with a growth rate of 390,000 units and 23%.While the North American market was down 9% year-on-year due to policy fluctuations, the “rest of the world” broke through the 140,000-unit mark with an explosive growth of 43%.
This structural change provides new opportunities for Chinese car companies.The Brazilian market has become a typical sample: BYD’s sales have grown exponentially since it entered Brazil in 2021, jumping from 260 units in 2022 to 76,000 units in 2024, and January-May 2025 sales have exceeded 39,000 units.In the Brazilian pure electric market, BYD’s share is as high as 92.16%, and plug-in hybrid accounts for 35.8%, holding the top spot.
Meanwhile, the European policy environment is undergoing subtle changes.While the EU had planned to impose a countervailing duty of up to 37.6% on Chinese EVs, the two sides are recently exploring a minimum price agreement as an alternative to the tariff program, preserving room for Chinese carmakers to make adjustments.
The Norwegian market provides a “stress test” scenario: 96.9% pure electric penetration rate almost completely eliminates fuel vehicles.Chinese brands have formed a multi-echelon structure in Norway – BYD, Xiaopeng and Krypton form the main camp, while Red Flag and Lantu are at the stage of differentiation and exploration.
Going Abroad: The Rise of Emerging Markets and the Innovation of Logistics System
In 2025, China’s auto export map is also undergoing structural adjustment.The lessons learned in the Russian market are particularly alarming – as the market share of Chinese brands soared to 58.41%, product quality issues also surfaced.According to Russia’s State Industrial Information Agency, the five-year maintenance cost of Chinese SUVs exceeds the price of a new car.
From January to May this year, 146,700 vehicles were exported to Russia, plummeting 55.1% year-on-year, while the number of exports to Mexico was as high as 199,900, up 30% year-on-year, surpassing Russia and ranking first among China’s export destinations.
At the same time, the Middle East market surged, the United Arab Emirates with 189,500 units jumped to China’s second largest export market for automobiles, with a growth rate of 61.2%.
In Southeast Asia, China’s new energy vehicles have become the dominant market.Indonesia Automobile Industry Association data show that in the first half of this year, Indonesia’s wholesale sales of pure electric vehicles increased by 267% year-on-year, Chinese brands accounted for more than 90% of sales.Thailand Automobile Association statistics also show that Chinese brands dominate the electric car market in Thailand, and four of the top five electric car sales last year came from China.
The innovation of logistics system has also become an important support for Chinese car enterprises to go to sea. 1271 Changan cars were loaded on board in Qinzhou port area of Beibu Gulf Port in Guangxi on July 17, adopting the mode of “railroad cage car + ro-ro ship” iron and sea transportation to realize the seamless connection of commodity cars from “inland factories directly to the sea ports” compared with the traditional route, shortening 4 to 10 days.The mode of “railway cage car + ro-ro ship” is used to realize the seamless connection of commodity automobile from “inland factory directly to the port of sea”, which shortens 4 to 10 days compared with the traditional route.
BYD has built its own “carrier fleet” – Wang Chuanfu led the eight-ship ro-ro program.At present, seven ships have been delivered into the ranks, and the eighth ship “Jinan” is expected to be delivered in August and September this year.This fleet not only saves freight costs and optimizes transportation routes, but also allows BYD to take the initiative to go to sea.
Plug-in Hybrids Surge: Technical Barriers and Global Demand Resonate
China’s auto export data for the first half of 2025 reveals an unexpected bright spot: plug-in hybrid models have become the new engine for going overseas with 210% year-on-year growth, exporting 390,000 units, far outpacing the 40.2% growth rate of pure-electric models.
This outbreak stems from China’s long-term technology accumulation. 2023 World Intellectual Property Organization data show that China’s plug-in hybrid technology patents accounted for 68% of the world’s total, covering the core areas of battery management, motor control, power coupling and other core areas, forming a crushing advantage in the market.
At the enterprise level, the hybrid technology of BYD, Geely, Great Wall and other car companies has reached the international leading level.BYD DM-i technology adapted to the world’s toughest environment, can be in the Middle East 50 ℃ high temperature to maintain the range of zero decline; Geely’s newly released Raytheon AI electric hybrid 2.0 system, in the AI-supported can be realized to anticipate the road conditions, intelligent decision-making, equipped with the system of the Galaxy A7 measured 100 kilometers of feeder fuel consumption as low as 2.49L.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Riders’ Association, pointed out, “In the world, plug-in hybrids have a huge upgrading and substitution effect on fuel vehicles.China’s plug-in hybrid products have a superb price-performance ratio and superb driving experience, and there will be huge room for development in the future.”
Localization of in-depth operation: from vehicle export to global ecological co-construction
The year 2025 has become a key watershed in the globalization strategy of Chinese automakers.Facing the complex international trade environment, Chinese headline automakers are accelerating their shift from pure export to deep localized production.
As a car export “big brother” Chery has long been overseas layout for many years, currently has more than 10 assembly plants, mainly in Southeast Asia, South America, Russia and other regions.In Brazil, Annapolis plant production of Rui Hu 8 and other models, not only to meet the needs of the South American market, but also effectively avoid trade barriers and reduce the cost of transportation.
Changan Automobile unveiled its “Vision 2030” at the Overseas Partners Conference held in April, announcing that it will invest more than $10 billion to accelerate the globalization process, with the goal of achieving a global sales volume of 5 million vehicles in 2030.In the next five years, Changan will focus on five major overseas regional markets, including Europe, Central and East Africa, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Eurasia, and accelerate the construction of localized production and manufacturing, brand operations, and customer service capabilities.In May this year, Changan Automobile’s first overseas new energy vehicle base, Rayong Plant in Thailand, rolled out the DEEPAL S05.
The internationalization leap plan of DONGFENG is also accelerating.Recently, Dongfeng opened its first brand showroom in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, announcing the landing of the three major brands DONGFENG, VOYAH and MHERO in the Serbian market.In terms of channel expansion, DONGFENG has taken solid steps: in March, it displayed its own passenger cars in the largest shopping mall in North Macedonia; in May, it landed in the Polish market; and in June, it unveiled its first flagship showroom in Rome, Italy.
BYD’s overseas expansion process is also rapid, its new factory put into construction in the outskirts of the Brazilian city of Camasari, the location of which used to be a Ford plant.According to the plan, BYD’s factory in Szeged, southern Hungary, will be put into production at the end of 2025, in addition to setting up a European headquarters and research and development center, and plans to expand its European sales outlets to 1,000 by the end of the year; and at the same time, laying out its factories in Uzbekistan, Turkey, Indonesia and other places.
Great Wall Motor’s Brazilian plant will start production in mid-2025, and the new plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000 units in three years. In addition to meeting the supply demand for new energy vehicles in the Brazilian domestic market, the new plant will serve as Great Wall Motor’s fourth-largest production base in the world.
Xiaopeng Automobile recently announced that the first overseas localized production project was launched in Indonesia, and the right-hand drive version of Xiaopeng X9 will be put into production in Jakarta in July, which has become a key step in the global strategy of Xiaopeng Automobile.As of June this year, Xiaopeng Auto has entered more than 40 countries and regions around the world.
China’s automobile overseas has shifted from pure trade to the output of the whole industry chain, and the construction of global ecology has become the key to competition in the second half.
New paradigm of technology export: from hardware trade to ecological standard construction
Upgrading from product output to technology ecology output, today’s Chinese car enterprises’ overseas strategy is experiencing qualitative changes.In June this year, Huawei’s HMS for Car proposed the “Four Core Capability Matrix” (Map Box, AI Box, App Box, and Net Box), which helps car companies build a breakthrough leading cockpit experience and reconstructs the rules of global smart car competition.
Among them, Huawei Petal Map covers 160 countries and realizes lane-level navigation, supporting real-time updating of massive address data; AI Box, which supports recognition of 13 languages and 80 dialects, includes 13 languages such as English, Thai, and Arabic, and is capable of accurately recognizing local accents and supporting complex interaction scenarios such as end-to-cloud collaboration, continuous dialog, and interruptions; and in terms of application ecology, it seamlessly connects with global developer resources through ArkwebIn terms of application ecology, through Arkweb cross-end technology, it seamlessly connects global developer resources and significantly reduces the cost of automobile enterprises.
China’s smart driving technology standards are also starting to feed the global market. in April, Horizon received the world’s first and only ISO/PAS 8800 certification, the world’s first artificial intelligence safety standard for road vehicles issued by the International Organization for Standardization.
This certification has become a “safety and trust passport” for entering the global market.The cooperation mode between Horizon and Volkswagen Group rewrites the traditional logic of joint venture: through the joint venture company CARIZON, Horizon’s full-scenario intelligent driving program HSD will serve as the technical support for Volkswagen’s “in China, for China” strategy.
put at the end
Today, the game of power in the global auto industry is rewriting the rules.UBS predicts that Chinese cars will account for 33% of the world’s share in 2030, while Arrow Platinum Consulting judges that by 2030, Chinese brands will jump from 4% to 13% of the overseas market share, meaning that one out of every eight cars sold in the world will come from a Chinese brand.
The “products go to sea” is also upgraded to “industry chain go to sea”, when China’s intelligent driving technology began to feed the German Volkswagen, when the ISO 8800 safety certification has become a global passport, China’s automobile industry is realizing the leap from “going out” to “going up”.China’s auto industry is realizing the leap from “going out” to “going up”.
The “Chinese answer” for the second half of the overseas market has become clear, not only cost-effective products, but a set of new globalization rules that integrate localized operations, ecological co-construction and technological innovation, and Chinese automobile enterprises are inserting the red flag of “Made in China” into the global automobile industry.The Chinese automobile enterprises are putting the “Made in China” Red Flag on the map of global automobile industry.
Article source: EAST Cars
