China supports NEV companies to accelerate the construction of overseas marketing and after-sales service networks and increase brand promotion efforts, a senior official said.
(File photo shows Nio ET7 loaded at a Chinese port and about to be sent to Europe. Image credit: Nio)
As China's electric vehicle industry grows rapidly, many local automakers are stepping up their efforts to expand into overseas markets, and Chinese authorities are expressing support for such moves.
China supports exports of key products, including new energy vehicles (NEVs), as part of a new policy to further stabilize foreign trade development, Li Fei, assistant commerce minister of China, said at a news conference today.
Li was responding to questions from reporters at a news conference held by China's State Council today on stabilizing economic growth, according to a live text stream posted on the official China.com.cn website.
In recent years, China's auto industry, especially the NEV industry, has boomed and its international competitiveness has improved significantly, Li said.
From January to July, China's exports of NEVs grew more than 90 percent year-on-year, becoming a bright spot in foreign trade, he said.
"We will continue to work with relevant departments to support NEV companies to accelerate the construction of overseas marketing and after-sales service networks and increase brand promotion efforts," Li said.
China will also encourage overseas institutions of Chinese banks to provide overseas consumer financial products and study broadening the transportation channels for exports, including transporting NEVs via China-Europe Railway Express, he said.
Since the start of this year, China's foreign trade has faced significantly more risks and challenges, and the pressure to stabilize foreign trade has increased, Li said.
China has proposed new policies to further stabilize foreign trade development in the current round of policies to stabilize the economy, including promoting the development of new models of foreign trade and supporting the export of key products, including NEVs, he said.
It is worth noting that exports of NEVs from China are now mainly contributed by Tesla.
In the first half of this year, exports from China reached 1.22 million vehicles, up 47.1 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) in July.
Among them, a total of 202,000 NEVs were exported, up 1.3 times year-on-year, accounting for 16.6 percent of the total exports of all vehicles.
Tesla's Shanghai plant exported 97,182 vehicles in the first half of the year, accounting for 48 percent of the NEVs exported from China in the same period, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) monitored by CnEVPost.
Local Chinese car companies are also increasing their expansion into overseas markets, as competition at home becomes increasingly fierce.
In August, BYD sold 5,092 NEVs in overseas markets, up 26.48 percent from 4,026 units in July, according to data released last week. The company released its first overseas sales figures for NEVs last month.
At the Chengdu auto show, which opened on August 26, Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said Nio recently sent three ships loaded with the Nio ET7 to Europe.
Update: NIO sends first ET7s to Europe on three vessels, instead of one
