Customs data compiled by the China Automobile Association show that from January to September 2010, the cumulative import value of auto products (including auto parts) nationwide was US$40.781 billion, an increase of 90.59% year-on-year, and the export value was US$37.367 billion, an increase of 44.94% year-on-year. The trade deficit reached 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. Imports are 9% higher than exports. And auto parts are a big part of China's auto products. If we only look at the entire vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "car"), the difference between the export value and the import value will be even greater.
China is a net importer of automobiles
In September 2010, China imported a total of 66,300 vehicles, with an import volume of 2.313 billion U.S. dollars; exported 51,400 vehicles, and exported 598 million U.S. dollars. The import volume is only slightly higher than the export volume, while the import amount is more than four times the export value. If one dollar is equal to 6.6 yuan, the average price of cars imported by China in September is 230,300 yuan, while the average price of cars exported is only 76,800 yuan.
From January to September 2010, China exported a total of 407,700 vehicles, totaling US$4.94 billion in exports. The average monthly unit price for automobile exports in the first nine months was 80,600 yuan (the exchange rate is the same as above). The monthly unit price of auto exports is shown in Figure 3.
China's imported cars mainly come from Germany, Japan, the United States, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The main export destinations for automobiles are Algeria, Vietnam, Syria, Egypt, the Russian Federation, Iran, Bangladesh, Chile, Brazil, and the United States.
Imported major car categories
Most of the cars imported by China are cars, off-road vehicles and small passenger cars.
Customs data compiled by China Automobile Association shows that in September 2010, the imports of these three categories of vehicles accounted for 94.72% of China’s total car imports (66,300 units). Among them, the largest import volume was off-road vehicles, which imported 27,700 vehicles in September, an increase of 69.80% year-on-year; followed by cars, and imported 25,600 vehicles, an increase of 27.61% year-on-year; and small passenger vehicles imported 9,500 vehicles, an increase of 1.4 times year-on-year.
Exported major car categories and car prices
Most of the cars exported by China are trucks, cars and buses. From January to September 2010, these three types of vehicles accounted for 80.85% of China's total auto export volume (0.447 million units). Among them, the largest export volume was trucks, with 150,100 exports in January-September, an increase of 23.00% year-on-year; followed by cars, exports were 121,500, an increase of 99.55%; bus exports were 55,600, a year-on-year increase of 1.0 times. .
According to statistics from the China Automotive Industry Association, from January to August 2010, the top five Chinese auto export enterprises were Chery, Chang'an, Great Wall, Dongfeng and Beiqi. They exported 57,300, 40,600, 37,700 and 29,300 vehicles, respectively. And 24,100 units, respectively, an increase of 1.73 times, 56.64%, 89.16%, 1.30 times and 34.95%. The export volume of these five companies accounted for 56.27% of total exports.