After several consecutive years of growth, electric vehicles have suffered a major blow in the export market in 2024, and the export of pure electric vehicles has declined. However, relying on the performance of plug-in hybrids in the export market, China's electric vehicle exports still barely maintained growth, while fuel vehicles have It is the absolute main force for Chinese automobiles to go global.

Data for the first 11 months of 2024 show that China's automobile exports have exceeded 5 million units, and the annual automobile export volume is estimated to reach 5.8 million units, an increase of 11.1% from 5.22 million units in 2023. The growth rate has declined significantly, resulting in The main reason for the decline in automobile export growth is the decline in pure electric vehicle exports.

In the first 11 months, the export volume of pure electric vehicles reached 894,000 units, down 10.8% year-on-year; however, the export volume of plug-in hybrid vehicles increased 1.8 times to 246,000 units, and the total of the two reached 1.14 million units.

The absolute main force of China's automobile exports is still fuel vehicles, and the export of fuel vehicles has maintained a rapid growth rate. In the first 11 months, the export of fuel vehicles reached 4.203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%.

The export of trams is hindered because Europe has increased tariffs on Chinese trams. However, the European market is open to plug-in hybrids. This has provided strong support for China's export of plug-in hybrid models, thus driving the rapid growth of plug-in hybrid models in the European market.

China's fuel vehicle exports are mainly aimed at emerging markets. Markets such as Russia and Brazil have become the main destinations for China's vehicle exports. The demand for Chinese new energy vehicles in these markets is not as strong as expected. Chinese fuel vehicles are priced at affordable prices and more reliable. High configuration wins the favor of consumers.

In the European and American markets, hybrid technology has suddenly gained favor. Germany's hybrid models have accounted for 38% of the automobile market; the US market is also increasingly favoring hybrid technology. On the contrary, the development of Tesla, a local American electric car company, in the US market has not been so smooth. Electric cars account for only 7% of the US car market. Americans are far less fond of electric cars than Japan's fuel-saving hybrid technology.

The development of pure electric technology in the European and American markets is not so smooth, because electric cars still have serious range anxiety problems, while the US market is huge, and the oil price in the United States is not high. In addition, their electricity prices are very high, so the money-saving effect of pure electric cars is not great.

Japan's fuel-saving hybrid technology takes into account both money saving and range. Toyota's fuel-saving hybrid technology can reduce fuel consumption to a little more than 4 liters. Such ultra-low fuel consumption has made the cost of using fuel vehicles low enough, meeting the local demand for energy-saving technology, thereby driving Toyota's sales in the German market to double. In the first half of 2024, Toyota's sales in the US market increased by 14%.

The plug-in hybrid technology developed by China's automobile industry has opened up the market in Europe. Hybrid vehicles account for nearly 40% of the German automobile market, of which more than 10% are plug-in hybrid technology. The plug-in hybrid technology developed by China's automobile industry is becoming increasingly mature, and several Chinese automobile companies that have developed plug-in hybrid technology have gained a firm foothold in the European market.

As a result, China's plug-in hybrid technology has directly competed with Japan's fuel-saving hybrid technology. Of course, Japan's fuel-saving hybrid technology still has an advantage at present. In any case, plug-in hybrid technology has opened up the market in Europe, giving hope to Chinese automobiles.

Automobiles are part of the high-end manufacturing industry, which affects a very long industrial chain. China's automobiles going to the international market have opened up a new path for China's manufacturing to go global, and have driven the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing. China has also surpassed Japan to become the world's largest automobile exporter, which has encouraged China's automobile industry to accelerate the improvement of technology and develop new automobile technologies on the basis of consolidating the export of fuel vehicles.