CHINA’S auto exports surged 57.9% year on year to a record high of 4.91 million vehicles in 2023 as the country’s automakers expanded their presence overseas, industrial data showed Thursday.

It marks another significant increase after the country exported more than 3 million vehicles in 2022 and over 2 million in 2021.

The nation’s carmakers churned out 30.16 million vehicles last year, up 11.6% compared with 2022, and wholesale deliveries, which include shipments to dealers, surged 12% year on year to 30 million, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data released Thursday. Both surpassed previous records set in 2017.

“Price discounts have impacted the market and the recovery of auto consumption is ongoing,” said Chen Shihua, CAAM’s vice secretary general. “Toward the end of the year, the auto market performed better than expected and production and wholesale volumes broke records,” he said.

Russia was the top destination for Chinese auto exports in 2023, receiving more than 841,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of the year, more than twice the number sent to runner-up Mexico.

Meanwhile, China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) ownership has continued to climb, with NEVs in use rising to 20.41 million at the end of 2023, according to the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday.

The figure accounted for 6.07% of the country’s total vehicle ownership, the ministry said.

The number of newly registered NEVs in use in 2023 was 7.43 million, marking an increase of 2.07 million compared with 2022.     (SD-Agencies)