Exports become core growth engine for automakers, and Hunan automobiles are accelerating their overseas expansion.

In the first seven months, Hunan's exports of automobiles grew 61.3% year on year, as automakers shift from "selling products" to "global operations."

The key phrase in this year's domestic auto market has shifted from "competing for local demand" to "racing for overseas markets." The latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to July this year, total domestic automobile sales were 17.602 million units, down 3.7% year on year. However, automobile exports exceeded six million units, with a year-on-year increase of over 50%. This means that one in every three cars sold was exported.

Hunan is an important national hub for the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. Leveraging its comprehensive full-chain industrial advantages, the province is becoming a key engine in the national automobile export layout.

[China]

Automakers step up export efforts, with monthly exports exceeding one million units for two consecutive months.

Against the backdrop of overall pressure on the domestic auto market, overseas markets have become the core growth engine for Chinese automakers. Public data shows that this June, China's exports of automobiles surpassed one million units for the first time, reaching 1.037 million units. In July, the figure surged to 1.09 million units, breaking the industrial norm of sluggish mid-year export growth in previous years.

For Chinese automakers, overseas revenue is no longer a supplementary "icing on the cake," but a critical part of their business. Data shows that in the first half of this year (H1), BYD's overseas revenue increased more than 30% year on year to 181.268 billion CNY, which has already exceeded its domestic revenue. GWM's overseas revenue reached 56.288 billion CNY, accounting for 55.1% of total revenue. Changan Automobile's overseas revenue grew 78.77% to 21.942 billion CNY.

Meanwhile, Chery Automobile exported 943,800 units in H1, up 71.5% year on year. SAIC Motor's exports and overseas production base sales climbed 48.7% year on year to 734,700 units. Geely Automobile exported 474,200 units, rising 158% year on year while Leapmotor exported 96,300 units, surging 372.6% year on year.

"In the context of rising oil prices and accelerating global vehicle electrification, overseas market demand continues to grow." Industry analysts said that amid weakening domestic automobile demand, automakers have intensified their overseas market layouts. The cost and technological advantages accumulated by Chinese automakers in the new energy sector have been released in a concentrated manner.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), predicted that China's automobile exports may challenge 12 million units this year. He believed that markets in the Global South have long lacked cost-effective electrified models, combined with the external environment of high oil prices. The electrification and intelligence advantages that Chinese automakers have built over more than a decade have tapped into the global market's demand window.

[Hunan]

Automobile export markets are diversifying, with the ASEAN countries as the largest market.

In the NEV industry, Hunan has built a full-chain automotive industrial ecosystem covering lithium resource development, cathode material manufacturing, power battery production, motor and electronic control supporting facilities, and complete vehicle assembly. According to the latest data released by the Changsha Customs Authority, Hunan exported 193,000 automobiles in the first seven months of this year, up 61.3% year on year, with the growth rate hitting a historical high.

In Changsha, BYD has laid out full-chain manufacturing bases for complete vehicles, batteries, and core components. The NEVs produced by BYD Changsha are supplied to key overseas markets such as ASEAN, Africa, and Europe. In 2025 alone, it exported 82,000 complete vehicles. The figure more than doubled year on year.

With the support of Geely Auto's Xiangtan base, Xiangtan exported 99,000 automobiles in the first seven months of this year, up 141.6% year on year.

Hunan's automobile export markets are currently showing a diversified development trend. During the January-July period, Hunan's automobile exports to ASEAN reached 6.35 billion CNY, making it the largest market. Among them, the export growth to Malaysia and the Philippines doubled. During the same period, Hunan's automobile exports to Russia and Belarus increased 180% and 160% respectively; exports to African countries grew 110% year on year to 2.14 billion CNY, truly achieving multi-point growth.

Hunan automakers' overseas expansion is no longer the trade-based export model of the past, where "selling the car was the end of the order." Instead, they have shifted to a new approach of "global operations": carrying out local adaptation and building supporting systems overseas. This has both leveraged the strengths of Chinese vehicles and helped local communities create jobs and generate tax revenue, transforming from "selling products" to "creating value together."

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Hunan ranked tenth among the top ten provinces in automobile production nationwide in H1. Compared with its ranking ten years ago, Hunan has risen eight places, becoming an undeniable "Hunan force" in China's automobile export landscape.

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan