Cui Dongshu: China Expected to Export 12 Million Vehicles This Year, High Oil Prices Provide a Boost...

[CNMO Tech News] On October 23, Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, released the latest data: from January to September 2026, China's car exports reached 8.63 million, up 52% year-on-year; September exports alone were 1.18 million, up 55% year-on-year, up 13% month-on-month, with an overall strong trend.

BYD Cars

Cui Dongshu estimates that at this pace, full-year exports are expected to reach 12 million vehicles. Cui Dongshu believes the main drivers for high growth in exports this year remain high oil prices, improved competitiveness of Chinese products, and sustained growth in Global South markets, though exports to Mexico and Philippines saw a significant month-on-month decline in September.

Regarding destination markets, the top 10 countries for China's total vehicle exports in September were Russia 112,962 vehicles, UK 58,740 vehicles, Brazil 58,725 vehicles, Australia 46,559 vehicles, Belgium 45,369 vehicles, Thailand 39,323 vehicles, UAE 39,120 vehicles, Mexico 38,962 vehicles, Italy 37,731 vehicles, Spain 34,051 vehicles; the top five markets with the largest year-on-year increase were Russia 43,836 vehicles, Brazil 34,423 vehicles, UK 31,173 vehicles, Thailand 25,615 vehicles, Italy 25,024 vehicles.

Related Data

Looking at the cumulative data for the first three quarters, the top 10 countries were Russia 752,602 vehicles, Brazil 539,675 vehicles, UK 424,173 vehicles, Australia 373,674 vehicles, Belgium 367,879 vehicles, Mexico 361,518 vehicles, Italy 245,836 vehicles, UAE 237,970 vehicles, Philippines 235,933 vehicles, Thailand 224,121 vehicles; among them, exports to Russia recovered significantly, with the top five for increase in this period being Russia 394,809 vehicles, Brazil 321,527 vehicles, UK 199,582 vehicles, Australia 150,298 vehicles, Italy 136,011 vehicles.

The landscape of export provinces also changed. From January to September, Anhui's car export growth rate reached 115%, with Zhejiang ranking second; Shanghai enterprises maintain high-end exports, with average export prices at a relatively high level. In terms of vehicle structure, growth rates for various vehicle models tracked by customs diverged this year; passenger cars overall showed a strong trend, while trucks had poor performance in September market share; pickup trucks saw growth improvement in September, heavy truck exports declined from peak levels, while other truck markets showed strong trends; within buses, medium and large buses performed weakly, while light bus export share rebounded to 63% in September.

Related Data

New energy vehicles remain the fastest-growing segment. In September 2026, China's new energy vehicle exports reached 612,000, up 104% year-on-year, up 23% from August; cumulative exports from January to September reached 4.07 million units, up 75%. New energy vehicle growth significantly outpaced the overall export market, indicating their share of China's car exports continues to rise, aligning with demand for electrified vehicle models in Global South and European markets.