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News from ECG
New Vehicle Exports from China reached 681,000 units in January and 672,000 units in February, bringing the year-to-date total to 1,353,000 units in the first two months of 2026, as per data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) yesterday.
Reaching an export volume of 1.35 million in the first two months of this year marks a huge 48.4% year on year increase. January exports from China were up 44.9% y/y while February’s jumped even more at 52.0%.
Types of Vehicles Exported
Of the 1.35 million units exported in the first two months, passenger vehicles account for the vast majority or 86.8% of the total volume. Commercial vehicles meanwhile account for 13.2% of the volume, with 178,000 units exported.
The volume of passenger vehicles (which includes sedans and SUVs) saw volume surge 53.3% from the 766,000 units exported in the first two months of 2025. Meanwhile, commercial vehicles, which include light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, have seen exports jump 21.9% y/y.
ICE or NEV exports
Internal Combustion Engine vehicles continue to account for the majority of export volumes, but this is changing fast. In the first two months of 2026, a total of 769,000 ICE vehicles were exported from China, 56.8% of total exports but an increase of only 22.3% y/y.
New Energy Vehicles saw volume exports of 583,000 units in the first two months of 2026, marking 43.1% of the total volume of exports and an increase of 106% y/y.
Type of NEVs exported
Passenger car NEVs account for 98% of the volume of NEVs exported from China with 572,000 units exported in the first two months of 2026. Commercial vehicle NEVs account for just 2% of the total volume of NEVs exported with 12,000 units exported in the same period.
Meanwhile, Battery Electric Vehicles account for 65% of the NEVs exported, with 377,000 units in the first two months of 2026. Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles account for the other 35%, with 206,000 units exported. Both BEV and PHEV exports are up over 100% y/y.
Top Exporters
The top OEM exporters in the first two months of 2026 are led by Chery with 243,000 units. BYD follows with exports of 201,000 units, with SAIC in third place at 188,000 units. In fourth is Geely with exports of 156,000 units while Changan comes in fifth with 109,000 units exported YTD.
In sixth place is Great Wall with exports of 83,000 units, followed by Tesla with 71,000 units. In eighth place is BAIC with 55,000 units while in ninth is Dongfeng with 54,000 units and in tenth place is Sinotruk with 34,000 units.
2025 Destination Data
As per the data released by the CPCA, the top destinations for Chinese made new vehicle exports in 2025 were led by Mexico with 625,187 units. Two markets in Europe are in the top 10 list, the United Kingdom with direct exports of 335,551 units in 2025 and Belgium with 300,103 units.
Mexico saw an increase of 180,000 units compared to 2024, and surpassed Russia as the top destination for new vehicles from China. Of the total, 221,000 units were new energy passenger vehicles compared with just 80,000 in 2024.
UK ranked fourth as a destination for Chinese-made new vehicles in 2025, with an increase of 140,000 units compared to 2024. Of the total 335,551 units exported to the UK in 2025, new energy vehicles accounted for 231,000 units, up from 119,000 units in 2024.
Worth mentioning is that the UAE, to which exports of 571,937 units were sent in 2025, and Belgium to which 300,103 units were exported, are both regional hubs. The UAE is the location where Chinese vehicles get re-distributed to other regions in the Middle East and Africa, while Belgium continues to be the main gateway for delivery for vehicles for distribution across much of Europe.
Kazakhstan has entered the top 10 destinations, as this is also a hub for distribution across Central Asia.
Important to note is that the volumes of new vehicles exported from China include both Chinese brand models as well as those made by international automakers at joint venture facilities in China, or indeed at wholly owned factories. Therefore volumes sent to the major distribution hubs such as UAE and Belgium will include international brand cars.
Volumes to the Middle East will be significantly impacted by the ongoing issues in the region, and while the Chinese authorities at the CPCA have stated that they expect a 10% growth rate for global exports from China in 2026, the expectation was that the Middle East crisis would be a short-term affair. The logic behind the expected 10% growth rate in new vehicle exports is that the Middle East is a high profit, high growth strategic market which can mitigate any short-term logistical disruption via route adjustments, move to more KD (knock down) kit assembly and localized production can be accelerated. However, with the continued issues in the Strait of Hormuz, OEMs are facing higher insurance costs combined with longer delivery cycles. Therefore, there has been already a move to use ports in Oman and Jordan, as well as increase in use of freight trains for land routes to Europe. Meanwhile Chinese media has reported the move to KD assembly being accelerated at factories in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
ECG Members can access the full report here.