- In January-May, China imported 180,000 cars, down 33 percent year-on-year, marking a rare sharp decline for January-May in recent years.
- During this period, imports of US cars to China dropped to 18,849 units, a year-on-year decrease of 48 percent, with the decline continuing in May.
China's car imports have seen a rare sharp decline this year, amid geopolitical influences and rapid changes in the domestic market landscape.
In the first five months of the year, China imported 180,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 33 percent, marking an unusually sharp decline for the January-May period in recent years, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said in a report released today.
During this period, imports of US vehicles to China dropped to 18,849 units, a year-on-year decrease of 48 percent, and the decline continued in May, Cui noted.
Imports of vehicles from the US to China have declined rapidly in recent years, from 280,000 units in 2017 to 109,000 units in 2024, according to the report.
As China's automotive industry has grown stronger, the transition to electrification has altered the structure of market demand, with demand for gasoline-powered vehicles continuing to shrink, and demand for imported gas vehicles declining significantly, Cui said.
Amid increasingly complex international relations, China should establish more diversified import patterns to maintain a reasonable scale of imported vehicles and ensure the security of the global supply chain, Cui urged.
Looking at the sources of imported vehicles in China from January to May, Japan topped the list with 70,037 units, followed by Germany with 41,676 units, Slovakia with 25,833 units, the US with 18,848 units, and the UK with 14,734 units.
In May alone, China imported 47,000 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 25 percent, despite an increase of 9 percent compared to April.
In May, China imported the most vehicles from Japan, totaling 21,247 units, followed by Germany with 10,148 units, Slovakia with 6,689 units, the UK with 3,618 units, and the US with 3,130 units.
Cui noted that with the rise of domestic vehicles and the acceleration of international brands' localization, China's automobile imports have continued to decline in recent years.
China's automobile imports have declined for three consecutive years, and if smoothed out, it has been a decline for seven consecutive years, Cui said.
With the rapid development of China's electric vehicle (EV) industry, domestic brands have risen rapidly in recent years, significantly impacting automobile imports.
Meanwhile, factors such as the US-China trade war this year have also had a significant impact.
Take Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) as an example. The US EV manufacturer halted orders for the Model S sedan and Model X SUV (sport utility vehicle) in China in April, with one possible reason being that the deteriorating trade war had impacted the two imported models.
Tesla produces the Model 3 sedan and Model Y SUV in Shanghai, while the Model S and Model X are not produced locally in China.
