China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter in '23

TOKYO, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- China overtook Japan as the world's biggest car exporter in 2023 for the first time, with 4.42 million exported vehicles in 2023, data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association showed.
The volume fell short of the 4.91 million cars exported by China, with a 58 percent surge, due to the growing demand for all-electric vehicles around the world, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced in a statement.
Chinese exports of gasoline-powered cars to Russia also rose, after Japanese, US and European automakers pulled out of the market due to the war in Ukraine, it said.
Data showed Japan's car exports rose for the first time in two years but fell short of the pre-pandemic level of 4.82 million vehicles in 2019.
Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. have been reviewing their production strategies in recent years, aiming to rely less on gasoline-powered cars and ramping up sales of gasoline-electric hybrids, which in many cases have higher mileage than pure EVs. (end) mk.nhq