China’s passenger car exports are up 80% in June as EV demand grows, while sales drop at home

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HONG KONG (AP) — China’s passenger car exports surged 80% in June from a year earlier, mainly due to strong demand for electric vehicles, though domestic sales fell 26%.

In the first half of this year, Chinese passenger vehicle exports jumped 72% to more than 4.4 million, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Sales inside China were still larger, at nearly 8.3 million for January-June and around 1.5 million passenger cars in the month of June.

China exported about 905,000 passenger cars last month, up from 809,000 in May.

China’s domestic car market has been under pressure as the overcrowded market is plagued by fierce price wars. A prolonged slump in the property market has hurt household budgets, hitting demand. Cutbacks in government support for purchases of EVs have also taken a toll.

Consultancy AlixPartners forecast that sales of light vehicles including passenger cars in China will likely fall 10%, partly because potential buyers could be holding off on purchases as they wait for prices to fall further.

Chinese automakers like BYD have been expanding into overseas markets and setting up factories in key markets. That can help improve their profitability, but it's added to friction with trading partners.

China’s passenger car exports could grow by 30% to 50% for the whole of 2026 from a year ago, said Stephen Chan, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings. Auto analysts have also predicted that higher gasoline prices due to the Iran war would lift global interest in EVs.

AlixPartners recently forecast Chinese exports for 2026 could rise to about 10 million vehicles this year, up from around 7 million in 2025.

Chinese car brands are also making inroads in Canada after it approved an annual import quota of 49,000 EVs from China at a low tax rate. Auto analysts are watching to see if that might pave the way for exports to the U.S. market, where hefty tariffs have effectively blocked Chinese EV exports.

Last month, Sweden-headquartered EV maker Polestar, which is controlled by Chinese auto group Geely, said the U.S. Commerce Department has banned it from selling vehicles in the U.S. from the 2027 model year.

Going global has “become a necessity” for automakers in China, Wei Haigang, president of automaker GAC International, said at an autos expo in Hong Kong in June. “In China’s highly competitive environment, companies that don’t venture overseas will face immense difficulties in surviving.”