China's auto exports maintained their record pace in July 2026, with the monthly volume exceeding one million units for the second consecutive month, according to data cited by the People's Daily Overseas Edition on August 26.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) reported that July vehicle exports reached 1.043 million units, up 81.3% year on year. For the first seven months, exports totaled 6.14 million units, an increase of 66.8%. CAAM Deputy Secretary-General Chen Shihua said the strong export performance has effectively cushioned downward pressure in the domestic market.
New energy vehicles are increasingly driving the export boom. In June and July, NEVs accounted for more than half of total exports for two straight months, with July NEV exports hitting 553,000 units, up 145.5% year on year and representing 53% of the monthly total. Between January and July, NEV exports reached 2.909 million units, up 1.2 times, while conventional fuel vehicle exports rose 36.2%.
The top ten export destinations in the first seven months were Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, the Philippines, Italy, the UAE and Algeria. Meanwhile, in the first half of 2026, BYD, Geely and Chery all entered the global top ten automakers by sales, ranking third, seventh and ninth respectively, with exports accounting for 43%, 33% and 69.5% of their total sales.
Image: Electric vehicle charging infrastructure in China. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
