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By: AFP
Data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association revealed on Wednesday that China has overtaken Japan as the world’s largest vehicle exporter in the past year.
The surge in China’s automotive sector has been attributed to substantial investments in electric vehicles, an area where Japanese companies have been more cautious.
According to figures from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Japan exported 4.42 million vehicles in 2023. In contrast, China exported 4.91 million vehicles, as reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers earlier this month.
China’s customs bureau reported an even higher figure of 5.22 million vehicles, marking a significant year-on-year increase of 57 percent, with one in three being fully electric vehicles.
While Japanese automakers, including Toyota, which was reaffirmed as the world’s largest company by unit sales on Tuesday, produce significant volumes of vehicles in other countries, they have traditionally focused on hybrid models combining battery power and internal combustion engines, such as the Toyota Prius.
However, with electric vehicle sales accounting for only 1.7 percent of total car sales in Japan in 2022 compared to higher rates in other regions, Japanese manufacturers are aiming to ramp up their electric vehicle offerings. Toyota, for instance, aims to sell 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030.
The company has also made substantial investments in battery technology, particularly in solid-state batteries, which promise faster charging times and longer ranges compared to conventional batteries.
China’s success in the electric vehicle market has attracted scrutiny from regulators in Western markets, with allegations of anti-competitive practices such as price-dumping. The European Commission launched an investigation into Chinese state subsidies for electric cars in September, potentially leading to tariffs on vehicles deemed to be unfairly priced and undercutting European competitors.
Christopher Richter, an auto analyst at CLSA, likened China’s rise in the electric vehicle market to Japan’s automotive exports in the 1980s. He noted that Japanese automakers responded by building numerous factories overseas, a strategy China seems to be emulating with its substantial overseas production.
