Beijing, April 28, 2025, 14:00 — In order to more comprehensively, timely, and accurately reflect the export status of electric passenger vehicles, from March 2025, Interface News/Interface Think Tank and Hanyu Information jointly launched the "China Electric Passenger Vehicle Export Monthly Report." The report aims to present the monthly trends of export amount, quantity, and destinations of electric passenger vehicles nationwide and by province, providing decision-making references for governments, enterprises, and investors. The report will be released around the 27th of each month.
According to statistics from Interface Think Tank and Hanyu Information, in March 2025, China's electric passenger vehicle import and export landscape showed a significant feature of "domestic demand contraction, strong foreign demand." The import volume and amount decreased significantly compared to the same period last year, while the export market achieved double-digit growth in both volume and amount, thanks to a diversified strategy and technological advantages, further consolidating the "large exports, small imports" trade pattern.
From the perspective of segmented products, the passenger vehicle export market showed a complex situation of "quantity expansion, price pressure." With the rapid expansion of the industry scale, enterprises have adopted price reduction promotion strategies to seize international market share, leading to a decline in the average prices of pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and non-plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles. Although price competition has driven a significant increase in export volume, it has also squeezed profit margins, highlighting the profitability challenges faced by the industry during scale expansion.
The bus export market showed a "technology route differentiation" feature: pure electric buses, with the advantages of scaled production and cost-effectiveness, saw a year-on-year increase of over 200% in export volume, continuing to expand their market share with high cost-effectiveness; hybrid buses, due to technological upgrades and configuration optimization, showed a development trend of "winning with quality," with a steady increase in average price, and a gradually clear high-end development path. However, both types of buses face multiple pressures such as fierce international market competition, raw material price fluctuations, and the reduction of overseas subsidies, and the price system is still in dynamic adjustment.
I. The average export price of electric passenger vehicles continued to decline in March, with two-polar differentiation in bus technology routes
From January to March, the overall import and export market of China's electric passenger vehicles was under pressure, with a cumulative import and export total of 11.627 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.64%; the export volume reached 649,600 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 32.98%. Looking at the monthly data, the market vitality in March significantly rebounded. The export amount for the month reached 17,444.92, down 4.16% from the previous month and 22.03% year-on-year.
In terms of product structure, the export in March showed significant differentiation characteristics. Passenger vehicles dominated the market, accounting for 99.33% of the total export volume and 94.54% of the total export amount; the export amount reached 15,549.35, 14,949.04, with year-on-year declines of 25.11%, 30.47%, and 22.82%, respectively.
The export volume of buses in March was 1,614 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 187.71% and a month-on-month increase of 101.25%; the export amount was 142,501.36, a year-on-year decrease of 30.80%, further expanding their market share with high cost-effectiveness. Hybrid buses, due to high technical integration and intelligent configuration upgrades, showed a market trend of "decreased quantity, increased price," with only 5 vehicles exported in March, an 84.38% year-on-year decrease and a 25% month-on-month increase, with an average price of $235,077.20, a year-on-year increase of 49.85%.
II. The export source of electric passenger vehicles intensified reshuffling, with Guangdong taking the lead in March
From January to March, Shanghai exported the most electric passenger vehicles to the world among all provincial-level administrative regions in China, with a cumulative amount of 1.466 billion, a year-on-year increase of 109.18%; and Shaanxi Province, with a cumulative amount of 10.205 billion, accounting for 87.76% of the total export amount.
Affected by intensified international trade frictions and continuously escalating tariff barriers, the export pattern of China's electric passenger vehicles is showing significant changes. Compared with the previous two months, the top 10 source region pattern in March was reshaped. Guangdong took the lead, followed by Shaanxi and Jiangsu. Sichuan Province entered the top 10 for the first time, showing strong market competitiveness; Hubei Province, which was previously in the top 10, failed to continue its previous export advantage; Shanghai fell out of the top three camp after maintaining the leading position for two consecutive months.
The top 5 provinces with the highest year-on-year growth rates in electric passenger vehicle exports in March were Anhui, Shanxi, Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu, all of which exceeded 100%; the lowest top 5 provinces were Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei, and Jiangxi. The data shows that the export growth rate of electric passenger vehicles in China is showing a polarization phenomenon, with 14 provinces experiencing negative growth.
III. Emerging Market Boom: March Exports to Africa Soar 225%, Traditional European Markets Decline
From January to March, the highest trade amount of China's electric passenger vehicle exports to global destinations was Belgium, at 968 million, a year-on-year decrease of 24.89%; and the United Arab Emirates, at 6.782 billion, accounting for 58.33% of the total export amount.
Compared with January-February, Turkey entered the top 10 destinations in January-March, while Slovenia exited. In March, the top 5 destinations with the highest year-on-year growth rates in China's electric passenger vehicle exports were Tunisia, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, and Hungary. Electric passenger vehicle exports to 81 countries/regions achieved positive growth, while exports to 47 countries/regions experienced negative growth.
From the perspective of the continents of the destinations, in March, China exported electric passenger vehicles to 151 countries/regions, including 45 in Asia, with a total trade amount of 69 million, a year-on-year increase of 225.34%, showing explosive growth and demonstrating the huge potential and competitive advantage of China's electric passenger vehicles in emerging markets.
IV. New Trade Routes under Trade Wars: China's New Energy Vehicle Export Strategy Fully Upgraded
During March-April, the overseas policy environment brought many challenges to China's electric passenger vehicle industry. The US trade policy continued to tighten, with a 245% additional tariff on Chinese electric vehicles starting in April, covering 100% Biden tariffs, 125% "reciprocal tariffs," and 20% fentanyl-related tariffs. At the same time, the US strengthened export controls on semiconductors, AI, quantum computing, and other technologies to China, affecting the intelligent R&D of Chinese electric vehicles. However, China's electric passenger vehicle market's dependence on the US market is limited. Data shows that from January to March, China's electric passenger vehicle exports covered 171 countries and regions globally, with 27 countries and regions having a cumulative export amount of over $100 million, showing a highly decentralized export map. The US not only failed to rank in the top 10 export amount destinations but also had an extremely low trade proportion. This data confirms the significant effectiveness of the "diversified market strategy" long practiced by Chinese car companies—by proactively deploying in emerging markets, the industry has successfully reduced its dependence on a single market.
Under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the results of emerging market development are particularly remarkable: the export growth rate to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions has exceeded 50% for several consecutive months, and the African market has become a new growth pole with a year-on-year increase of 225% in March. Faced with external pressures, the Central Politburo meeting on April 25 proposed to "work with the international community to actively maintain multilateralism and oppose unilateral bullying." The Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the General Administration of Customs, and other nine departments also jointly issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Healthy Development of New Energy Vehicle Trade Cooperation" in February, guiding the healthy development of new energy vehicle trade cooperation. At the same time, Chinese companies' response strategies reflect the dual wisdom of "technological autonomy + global collaboration." BYD, relying on cooperation with local car companies in Thailand, Brazil, and other countries, has deeply integrated into the Southeast Asian and Latin American markets, not only achieving overseas deployment of complete vehicle production capacity but also integrating core technologies such as batteries and electronic controls with the local industrial ecosystem; NIO has opened up the EU market through its production base in Hungary, using the "battery-swapping model output" to solve the pain point of insufficient charging infrastructure in Europe; CATL has established battery production bases in Mexico and Germany, using a localized manufacturing model to circumvent trade barriers. These practices prove that Chinese companies are upgrading from "product exports" to "industry exports," building a global industrial chain collaboration network through technology licensing, standard output, and joint venture establishment.
[Compilation Notes] The electric passenger vehicles defined in the report cover two main categories: buses and passenger cars. Among them, buses include pure electric buses and hybrid buses with 10 seats or more; passenger cars include pure electric passenger cars, plug-in hybrid passenger cars, and non-plug-in hybrid passenger cars. When classifying the continents of export destinations, Russia is classified as Europe, and Turkey is classified as Asia. The data source is Hanyu Information, analyzed and organized by Interface Think Tank.
Post time : May-05 10:15
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