CHINA’S shipments of cars rebounded in May, with electric vehicle exports more than doubling, as COVID lockdowns gradually ended.

Car manufacturers in China shipped US$1.2 billion worth of electric passenger vehicles, up 122% from a year earlier and almost triple the level in April, when car factories in Changchun and Shanghai such as those run by Telsa Inc. were shuttered or barely open. Passenger cars worth US$2.8 billion were exported, the fourth-highest monthly total in the past few years.

With domestic sales falling for 11 of the past 12 months, car companies in China have boosted their sales overseas, with exports in just the first five months of this year exceeding the whole of 2020. The biggest market is Europe, which took nearly half of shipments in May and about three-quarters of electric car exports, with much of the rest going to Asia.

China’s current excess electric car production capacity and low domestic sales mean it will continue to be a significant exporter in the medium term, according to Stephen Dyer, managing director at Shanghai-based consultancy AlixPartners.

China made up 60% of global exports of electric vehicles in 2021 and the trend continues in 2022, although Tesla’s new factory in Europe may slow exports from China, he said. (SD-Agencies)