According to Cui Dongshu, China achieved automobile exports of 764,000 units in August 2025, representing a 25% year-on-year increase and 12% month-on-month growth. For the first eight months of 2025, China's automobile exports totaled 4.94 million units, marking a 21% increase compared to the same period in 2024, demonstrating strong overall growth momentum. The primary drivers this year remain China's enhanced product competitiveness and modest growth in Global South markets.
**Top Export Destinations in August 2025**
The top 10 countries for China's total automobile exports in August 2025 were: Russia (58,707 units), UAE (46,616 units), Mexico (38,994 units), Australia (31,020 units), UK (28,821 units), Belgium (28,289 units), Saudi Arabia (28,012 units), Philippines (26,025 units), Algeria (22,265 units), and Kazakhstan (21,064 units). The top five countries with the largest year-on-year increases were: Australia (21,468 units), Algeria (21,386 units), UAE (18,069 units), UK (16,018 units), and Philippines (11,430 units).
For cumulative exports from January to August 2025, the top 10 countries were: Mexico (362,103 units), UAE (320,096 units), Russia (288,582 units), Belgium (211,923 units), Australia (198,903 units), Saudi Arabia (197,955 units), UK (197,023 units), Brazil (193,844 units), Philippines (176,571 units), and Kazakhstan (130,204 units). The top five countries with the largest year-on-year increases were: UAE (117,178 units), Australia (79,881 units), Philippines (71,889 units), Kazakhstan (61,180 units), and UK (58,928 units).
**New Energy Vehicle Export Performance**
For new energy vehicle exports in August 2025, the top 10 destinations were: Belgium (27,247 units), Philippines (21,957 units), UK (19,435 units), South Korea (15,500 units), UAE (15,424 units), Australia (15,017 units), Germany (14,289 units), India (12,444 units), Thailand (11,308 units), and Spain (10,545 units). The top five countries with the largest year-on-year increases were: UK (13,808 units), Philippines (12,612 units), South Korea (12,016 units), Australia (11,825 units), and UAE (10,001 units).
For the January-August 2025 cumulative new energy vehicle exports, the top 10 countries were: Belgium (202,663 units), Philippines (137,374 units), UK (133,744 units), Brazil (129,946 units), Mexico (125,651 units), Australia (99,750 units), Thailand (84,806 units), UAE (71,925 units), Turkey (67,805 units), and India (66,213 units). The top five countries with the largest year-on-year increases were: Philippines (67,405 units), Mexico (64,069 units), Australia (47,971 units), UK (44,951 units), and Turkey (44,738 units).
China's new energy vehicle exports for January-August 2025 performed better than expected, primarily driven by plug-in hybrids and hybrid vehicles replacing pure electric vehicles as new growth points for export expansion. Plug-in hybrid pickup trucks showed particularly strong export performance, becoming a highlight in commercial vehicle new energy exports. Chinese new energy vehicle exports to Middle Eastern and developed markets demonstrated high-quality development patterns, mainly targeting Western European and Asian markets.
**Overall Auto Export Trends**
China's automobile exports experienced multiple years of plateau at the million-unit level before finally breaking through in 2021. After significant declines during 2013-2016 due to global economic downturn, export growth gradually stabilized and improved from 2017-2020, maintaining annual export volumes around 1 million units. The 2020 exports reached 1.08 million units, down 13% year-on-year, followed by a high-growth period starting in 2021.
Growth rates reached 102% in 2021, over 50% in 2022-2023, and around 20% in 2024-2025. For January-August 2025, China achieved automobile exports of 4.94 million units with 21% growth. With China's ultra-high-speed automobile export growth recently, future development still holds enormous potential given stable international market conditions.
**Regional Export Characteristics**
In 2024, Anhui replaced Shanghai as the national leader in automobile exports, maintaining the top position in 2025. For January-August 2025, Anhui exported 670,000 automobiles, primarily due to relatively excellent local enterprises. Shanghai enterprises export higher-grade vehicles, with SAIC Motor passenger cars and Tesla both experiencing recent declines in export unit prices. Anhui's export performance has been relatively strong in recent years, mainly due to strong export performance from CHERY AUTO and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp.,Ltd., with Anhui showing good export diversification.
China's automobile exports overall performed strongly, with particularly excellent performance in exports to the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. Previous Chinese automobile exports had higher proportions in South America and strong performance in Southeast Asia and other Asian regions, now gradually shifting to relatively strong performance in South America and Europe. Recently, the Middle East and South America have performed relatively stronger compared to last year.
**New Energy Export Structure Analysis**
With China's domestic new energy vehicle market transitioning from subsidy-driven to market-driven, Chinese new energy automobiles' market competitiveness has significantly increased. Chinese new energy automobile exports achieved explosive growth starting in 2021, subsequently entering sustained high-growth periods. Despite EU policy interference affecting new energy exports in 2024, China's new energy automobile exports for the full year still reached 2.01 million units, up 16% year-on-year.
For January-August 2025, new energy vehicle exports reached 2.02 million units, up 51%, representing solid performance. January 2025 showed exceptionally strong new energy vehicle export growth, with weakness in February-March, followed by sustained high levels from April-August, establishing the foundation for continued growth in 2025.
In August 2025, China exported 100,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles, up 304%, accounting for 10% of total automobile exports, an 8 percentage point increase from August 2024. August 2025 pure electric vehicle exports reached 220,000 units, up 48%, accounting for 31% of automobile exports, a 3 percentage point increase from August 2024.
For January-August 2025, plug-in hybrid vehicle exports totaled 590,000 units, up 198% year-on-year, significantly higher than the 2024 January-August growth rate, accounting for 12% of automobile exports, a 7 percentage point increase from the 2024 January-August new energy export proportion.
**Export Market Outlook**
China's automobile competitiveness continues improving, with sustained growth expected for the future. Recent exports show plug-in hybrids and hybrid vehicles experiencing explosive growth, also resulting from continued market development in Australia, EU, and other markets. Export performance to various regions shows differentiation, with developed country markets showing mixed performance.
With the continuous improvement of Chinese automobile competitiveness and ongoing market expansion efforts, China's automobile export industry is positioned for continued growth, particularly in new energy vehicle segments where Chinese manufacturers have established strong competitive advantages in international markets.
Comments