New energy vehicle makers looking to expand export footprints

More Chinese new energy vehicle makers said they were looking to export their electric cars, indicating a higher level of confidence in their indigenous technologies, a latest survey has found.

More than half, or 53.6 percent, of surveyed automakers said they hope to export Chinese electric cars in three years, according to the Blue Book on the Research Report on the Impact of Foreign Technical Trade Measures on China's Automobile Exports 2018.

Compiled by the Shanghai Customs and the National Center of Supervision and Inspection on Motor Vehicle Products Quality (Shanghai), the study was based on surveys of 200 domestic car producers whose businesses are mainly export-driven.

Preferred export destinations include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, the Gulf countries, and other economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, the report said.

Meanwhile, Chinese new energy vehicle makers are increasingly adopting domestic energy storage devices and motors, as they shed reliance on foreign suppliers to enhance their export competitiveness.

Some 42 percent electric automakers said they used China-made batteries and 34 percent reported using domestic motors.

China, as the world's largest car market and auto producer, occupies only a small proportion in international auto export. The number of cars exported last year accounted for 3.6 percent of domestic sales last year.

Companies pointed to high certification/registration fee, long processing time and tough requirements as the common obstacles.