Commercial vehicle exports grew across the board

In 2022, the export volume of commercial vehicles grew in all directions. By the end of October 2022, China's commercial vehicle market has grown by 43.1% year on year, with exports reaching 480,000 units. The annual export volume is expected to be 580,000 units, with a growth rate of 45%. From the perspective of major models, the export of heavy trucks was 116,000 units, up 29.6% year on year; China card increased by 39% year-on-year; A total of 263,000 light trucks were exported, up 52.7 percent year on year.

The rapid growth of export volume reflects the changes of international situation, industrial chain and market trends. This paper will analyze the reasons for the overall rapid growth of commercial vehicle exports and the overseas strategy adopted by Chinese auto brands.

• The industrial chain of overseas commercial vehicles has been hit



Due to the combination of Russia-Ukraine war, epidemic, raw material price increase, chip shortage and other factors, overseas commercial vehicle industry chain has been affected. China's commercial vehicle industry chain is comprehensive, stable and reliable, which has formed a capacity replacement for foreign brands. Many Western commercial vehicle brands have withdrawn from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leaving a gap in demand that Chinese suppliers can fill.



• The product capacity of domestic commercial vehicles continues to improve



On the one hand, thanks to China's prevention and control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, better productivity was preserved when other countries were hit by the epidemic, and the supply chain recovered early and quickly, filling the gap of insufficient truck supply in overseas markets and bringing a huge increase to the commercial vehicle market. On the other hand, the purchasing power of the destination countries of our exports is affected, while our products are more cost-effective, which can be used in special times.



• Domestic manufacturers step up export efforts



In 2022, the domestic commercial vehicle market was relatively depressed. By October 2022, the total volume of commercial vehicles was down 32.7 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In order to cope with the shrinking demand in the domestic market, Oems have stepped up their operations in overseas markets and increased exports.