The Number Of Chinese Car Exporters Is Soaring, A Serious Threat To Japanese And South Korean Brands?

JAKARTA - China is experiencing significant growth in car production and exports abroad. Chinese car brands have successfully entered the global market and even become the top car exporters earlier this year.

This success is a threat to Japanese and South Korean car manufacturers who previously dominated the automotive market. According to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), Chinese car manufacturers have exported 994,000 cars in the first quarter of 2023. This number consists of 826,000 passenger cars and 168,000 commercial cars.

On the other hand, Japanese automakers only exported 954,000 units in the first three months of this year, a slightly lower number than China, Carscoops reported on Saturday, June 10.

Not only that, in recent years, China has also successfully exported cars to several developed countries in Europe and Australia.

Lee Hang-Koo, an automotive expert from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, said, "Last year, China was ranked second as the biggest exporter, and in April this year, they even became the biggest exporter."

With this positive growth trend, China has the potential to continue to increase its exports. This can be explained by the fact that the country has no choice but to expand its export market, considering that its domestic market has also been controlled by a car manufacturer from China itself.

Several automakers from outside China, such as Tesla, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz, have opened factories in China, which have also contributed to an increase in the number of car exports in the country. For example, Tesla managed to export as many as 270,000 cars from China last year, making it the third-largest exporter in the country.

With the aggressive increase in exports, South Korean automakers, such as Hyundai, must also be vigilant. Although Hyundai is developing a market in the United States, they are left behind in the European market. In addition, China's efforts to increase exports of electric and gasoline vehicles can hinder Hyundai's development.