"We believe that China's auto exports will take a new step. There are three aspects of performance: first, the export growth rate will continue to maintain a high trend, the export volume is expected to reach 4.5 million units this year, or even higher; second, the product lineup will be further enriched, and new energy vehicles will push enterprises to further expand the market in developed countries; third, China's future auto exports will change from product trade to the industrial chain going out, and the overseas service system and after-sales network will be gradually improve." On June 27, Liu Anmin, director and secretary of the board of directors of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI), said at the "World Counsellor China New Energy Vehicle Industry Chain In-depth Tour" jointly organized by CAERI and China Association for the Promotion of World National Culture Exchange. "The press conference was held in conjunction with the China Association for the Promotion of World Culture. 

Liu Anmin's aforementioned outlook is based on the fact that China's auto exports have entered an explosive period, which refers not only to a big rise in the scale of China's auto exports, but also to changes in sales regions, increased brand recognition and so on.

Data shows that China's auto exports have exploded so far in 2021, reaching 3.11 million units in 2022, ranking second in the world, due to a significant increase in the competitiveness of China's new energy products and a lack of supply from abroad. From January to April this year, 1.49 million units were exported, catching up with Japan to become the world's number one.

In terms of sales regions, the target markets for China's auto exports are showing a trend of diversification, with bulk exports to mature markets. Previously, China's auto export markets were mainly in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America. Now Chinese auto products are starting to enter developed countries in bulk.

"More than a quarter of cars will be exported to Europe in 2022, with Belgium, Australia, the UK, Spain and so on becoming important target markets for us." Liu Anmin said.

From the brand point of view, the overseas market for China's own brand recognition has increased significantly, the international competitiveness of automotive enterprises continues to strengthen, and the trend of rising export volume of head enterprises is obvious. In particular, some areas such as intelligence, electrification, networking and national industrial policies have reached the level of running alongside or even leading developed countries.

In terms of product segmentation, China's new energy vehicles have become an important growth pole for automotive exports in some mature markets. In recent years, the growth rate of new energy vehicle exports has been much higher than the overall growth rate of auto exports. From January to April this year, exports of new energy vehicles reached 348,000 units, already more than 2021.

In this regard, Liu Anmin proposed: "From the enterprise level, we have basically formed a consensus that the strategy of enterprises going to sea has been upgraded comprehensively. For example, Changan's 'Four Ones' goal, Great Wall's 2025 strategy, Geely's Longwan Initiative and so on, have all set clear development goals for internationalisation and invested superior resources to promote the implementation of the strategy."

However, it is important to note that China's auto exports are still stuck in a stage dominated by low- and mid-range products and simple trade. "In terms of the structure of the industry chain, China's auto industry will be going out in a comprehensive manner, eventually realising the international development of the industry chain. In the future, we will no longer be a simple trading enterprise. While exporting products, more enterprises will also invest and build factories overseas to create a perfect sales and after-sales service system. Ultimately the internationalisation of China's auto industry will definitely be an all-round going out of capital, technology, management, service and brand." Liu Anmin said, "We firmly believe that the road to the international development of Chinese automobiles is bright. But the road to the sea for Chinese cars is not only a beautiful scenery, there will definitely be difficulties, challenges, storms and risks, the road is long and the process is tortuous."

Therefore, Liu Anmin put forward three suggestions for the Chinese auto industry to achieve comprehensive going abroad and globalization of the industry chain: firstly, traditional markets and new markets should be given equal importance, and we should focus on the traditional incremental markets of Southeast Asia and Latin America, and actively explore the markets of developed countries; secondly, we should do a good job of researching policies and standards, "Now is a rare window period for us, we should both We should pay attention to the policies of relevant countries and regions regarding carbon tariffs and anti-dumping, and do a good job of responding to them in advance. We should also establish policies, regulations and standards for the service industry, and study the promotion of mutual recognition and interoperability of testing standards." Thirdly, internationalisation agencies and platforms should be urged to both plan holistically and establish an industry service system to form a combination of internationalised automotive business. They should also work together to create an education and promotion platform for the international development of the industry, and carry out trade coordination and international exchange.