During the first five months of the current year, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality exported 40,000 automobiles, an increase of 24.2 percent year-on-year with an export value of 2.53 billion yuan ($357.65 million), an increase of 48.1 percent.

According to Chongqing's commerce commission, auto exports showed a downward trend in February and March due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. As the industrial production and supply chain of the automobile industry returned to normal, Chongqing exported 16,000 autos in April and May, an increase of 34.3 percent on the same period last year.

Industry officials said that with overseas business and orders recovering, Chongqing's auto export volumes are expected to exceed 100,000 units this year.

Export prices have increased on the strength of the Chongqing independent brands' strong reputation in the marketplace. From January to May, the average export price of Chongqing units was 64,000 yuan per car, an increase of 20.7 percent on the previous year.

Taking advantages of opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative, Chongqing exported 23,000 automobiles to countries and regions involved with the BRI from January to May, worth 1.69 billion yuan.

Chongqing officials said they plan to keep addressing the challenges faced by auto exports to increase the quality of the exported units.

Additionally, they plan to create an international marketing platform, boost the development of overseas marketing services and help with the overall push to expand the export volumes of their automobiles.