New energy vehicles drive overseas growth
Named BYD Changsha, the vessel is capable of carrying 9,200 vehicles.
Three days before that, the company received another ship with the same capacity named BYD Xi'an.
That ship has set sail from Taicang, Jiangsu province, in eastern China.
It is heading toward European countries including Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Belgium.
With two more vessels scheduled for delivery this year, BYD will boost the fleet's annual capacity to more than 60,000 vehicles, enhancing overseas delivery efficiency and cutting costs and transport cycles for BYD.
The logistics expansion also mirrors the broader industry's push to conquer global markets.
This maritime upgrade comes as China's automobile exports hit 2.83 million units from January to May, growing 16% year-on-year (y-o-y), according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
In the first five months, the primary destinations for these exports included Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Brazil and Belgium.
Notably, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico experienced the largest increases from the corresponding period in 2024, with rises of 74,046 and 47,595 units, respectively.
Conversely, Russia saw a decline of 64% y-o-y.
This was due to Russia's policy of protecting its domestic auto industry, including higher car loan rates and a scrap tax on imports.
In May alone, China recorded 682,000 vehicle exports, up 20% y-o-y and 12% month-on-month.
NEVs emerged as the growth engine, with 296,000 units exported in May, accounting for 43% of total exports.
Cumulative January to May NEV exports reached 1.16 million units, up 33% y-o-y.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the CPCA, said that Chinese NEV exports in 2025 performed better than expected.
Plug-in hybrids and hybrids are replacing pure electric vehicles (EVs) as growth drivers, especially plug-in hybrid pickups which stand out among commercial vehicle exports.
Cui added that Chinese NEV exports are undergoing a transformative phase of high-quality development with a strategic focus on the Middle East and developed economies, especially markets in Western Europe and Asia.
At the Chongqing auto show in mid-June, Huang Zhiming, chairman of Shanghai Zhida Technology Development, put forward a three-step framework for Chinese automakers seeking international expansion.
He emphasised the importance of 'going out' to boost market share and brand recognition, 'going in' for local production and sales establishment, and 'going up' to elevate product quality, technology, and brand image for enhanced global competitiveness.
Huang also underscored the importance of close collaboration with local industries, governments, and enterprises to assist market penetration and gain local acceptance.
Automakers like BYD and Chery are leading the vanguard of China's automotive global expansion.
Chery shipped 442,000 vehicles in the first five months of 2025, up 1.6% y-o-y.
BYD's exports doubled y-o-y to 382,000 units during the same period.
Duval de Vasconcelos Barros, Brazil's deputy consul general in Chengdu, said Chinese NEV brands sold more than 110,000 units in Brazil in 2024, capturing a market share of 65%.
'Chinese automakers BYD, Chery and Great Wall have already invested in building factories in Brazil, and GAC Group also plans to establish a plant in Brazil in the second half of 2026,' he said.
He added that localising production in Brazil was becoming one of the best choices for Chinese automakers to expand into the Latin American market.
Besides, global market expansion necessitates a nuanced approach that takes into account regional specifics.
Thailand, which currently has only one EV testing laboratory, has called on Chinese automakers entering Thailand to not only introduce NEVs and technology but also collaborate to establish more EV testing labs, enhancing the country's infrastructure and consumer confidence in EVs.
Edmund Araga, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, said that the country values the fusion of foreign and local standards in promoting NEVs.
They look forward to Chinese automakers sharing local case studies upon entering the market.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers forecasts export growth to slow to 5.8% in 2025, ending an era of hyper-expansion.
Yet the NEV sector remains robust, fuelled by technological innovation and rising demand in developing and developed economies alike. -— China Daily/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
14 minutes ago
- The Star
Trump says tariffs talks with China ‘moving along well'
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that talks with China on a tariff deal were 'moving along well' and that the countries would reach a 'fair' deal on trade, without offering additional details of the agreement. 'We're moving along with China. We're doing fine with China,' Trump told reporters before leaving a bill-signing ceremony at the White House. 'I think it's going to work out very well. We're right in step ... I think we're going to have a very fair deal with China,' he added. Though reporters asked about the talks, the president did not confirm that the US and China would extend their 'pause' on tariffs that the world's two largest economies have imposed on each other's goods. On Tuesday, delegations from the countries finished a third round of high-level talks in Stockholm, Sweden, ahead of an August 12 expiration of that pause. Beijing and Washington had been expected to extend their tariff truce another three months, sources on both sides told the South China Morning Post before discussions began on Monday. At separate briefings on Tuesday in Stockholm, US and Chinese negotiators, while calling their discussions 'constructive', diverged on the timing of the fresh tariff pause. Li Chenggang, China's vice-minister of commerce, told reporters that the two sides had reached a 'consensus' concerning the pause extension, though he did not specify a date. But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied that any agreement on a new pause had been reached, insisting that nothing would be agreed to until Trump was briefed. 'I notice ... that the Chinese deputy minister did say that we had agreed on a pause,' Bessent said. 'We have not. Nothing is agreed until we speak with President Trump.' 'I think our Chinese counterparts have jumped the gun a little and said that we do have an extension,' he told CNBC later. En route to the US from Scotland on Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he would review the deal, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that 'we'll either approve it or not'. The Stockholm talks, led by Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, were the third time the delegations had met in an effort to stabilise trade after both countries hiked tariffs on each other's goods to triple-digit rates in April. So far, Washington has only reached trade agreements with a handful of major partners, including Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan and the European Union, with countries other than China facing a Friday deadline to cut deals. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. This month it noted that China's exports to the US declined by 24 per cent year on year in the second quarter of 2025, with the situation 'equivalent to the first quarter of 2020 when the economy activity was stagnant' during the pandemic.
New Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
China's weak job market stirs boom-era nostalgia on social media
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Dwindling job and income prospects in China are fuelling intense social media chatter about the fashion and culture of the country's high-growth period 20 years ago, in what analysts describe as a way to express discontent about the economy without attracting censorship. The hashtag phrase "beauty in the time of economic upswings," often accompanied by early 2000s pictures of celebrities wearing bright clothes and make-up or music videos and TV ads from that period, surged in social media mentions over the summer just as 12.2 million university students graduated. They entered one of the most challenging job markets in decades – pandemic years aside – as the world's second-largest economy grapples with higher US trade tariffs, deflation, industrial overcapacity and sluggish domestic consumption. While China is growing at roughly 5 per cent this year, analysts describe it as a dual-speed economy, with manufacturing and exports running strong, while households struggle. The current pace is half of that from the 2001–2010 decade. "The economy has its cycles, but youth doesn't come twice," a social media user wrote on a widely-shared post on the topic. The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the government, did not respond to a comment request. China's ruling Communist Party exerts a high degree of control over domestic media and social media in the name of safeguarding social stability and preventing the spread of rumours and fake news. Reports and public discussions on what the Party considers as sensitive are routinely removed from the internet, including views critical of the economy and any veiled criticism of policymakers. On RedNote, China's version of Instagram, the hashtag has so far garnered close to 50 million views. Most posts come from millennial women recalling greater career and consumption choices in their twenties, says Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina, citing platform data. But it is today's young Chinese, who face far more limited options, engaging with these posts. "Considering when it has gone viral, this is likely a response to the widespread complaints about the declining value of higher education and the increasingly tough job market for young graduates this summer," Jiang said. Xiao Qiang, the founder of US-based China Digital Times, which tracks China censorship, says the topic's popularity "poses a challenge to the authorities mainly because it uses everyday symbols, such as make-up and fashion, to subtly express dissatisfaction with economic decline and life pressure." "It creates a collective atmosphere of nostalgia and indirect criticism," Xiao said. "It can quietly erode public confidence in the official economic narrative." The content is "awkward" for censors, says Xiao, as most users share opinions over the aesthetics of China's recent past and express positive emotions. Marketing opportunity Fashion labels such as Giorgio Armani, Estée Lauder's Tom Ford and Valentino have sponsored "boom era"-themed posts on RedNote in the past 30 days, said Jiang. More than a dozen stores on Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce platform have used this tag to sell clothes. Bloggers have promoted the "Millennial Rose" shampoo by Procter & Gamble's Safeguard, or bulky Nike sneakers advertised on Taobao as "millennial classics reborn." L'Oréal-owned Maybelline, in a Weibo post promoting some of its brighter lipsticks, wrote "feel the beauty and vitality of the economic upswing." However, early-millennium looks are not prominent on Chinese streets. Jiang said marketing teams are leveraging the social media trend for brand awareness, not pushing new 2000s-inspired collections. Fashion bloggers posting under the "upswing" hashtag say styles often reflect the prevailing economic mood. This year's make-up trends, for instance, feature the more conservative, less expressive "glass skin," achieved through heavy use of moisturisers and hydrating primers or monochromatic looks where foundation, blushes or lipsticks can differ in gradient but belong to the same colour palette. The 2000s embraced futurism with metallic tones, glossy finishes and pearlescent blue or green eyeshadows. Full-eyeliner looks with smoky eyes contrasted with Barbie-pink lips for dramatic effect. "In times of economic growth, make-up is meant to look expensive and give out that glow of confidence that comes with flying careers and optimism," one beauty blogger wrote.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Cambodian PM says 19% US trade tariff 'the best news'
PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Friday welcomed a 19 percent trade tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump, avoiding a threatened levy of 36 percent. 'This is the best news for the people and economy of Cambodia to continue to develop the country,' Hun Manet wrote on Facebook. Trump had originally threatened a swingeing 49 percent tariff on Cambodia as part of his 'Liberation Day' measures aimed at rebalancing world trade in America's favour, but cut it to 36 percent last month. Dozens of countries face steep levies under the tariff regime approved by Trump in Washington on Thursday, set to come into force in a week. Cambodia is a major manufacturer of low-cost clothing for Western brands, with garment products accounting for most of its $10 billion in exports to the United States last year. Many factories in Cambodia are Chinese-owned and the White House has accused the kingdom of allowing Chinese goods to stop over on the way to US markets, thereby skirting steeper rates imposed on Beijing. The tariff announcement came days after Trump intervened to help broker a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia to end border clashes that left more than 40 people dead -AFP
