China’s electric vehicle (EV) exports surged 19% year-on-year in the first five months of 2025, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on June 9. Exports of equipment manufacturing products reached 6.22 trillion yuan (approximately 858 billion USD), a 9.2% increase from last year, accounting for 58.3% of the country’s total exports. The export momentum was led by electric vehicles, construction machinery (up 10.7%), ships (up 18.9%), and industrial robots (up 55.4%).
Chery led domestic automakers in total vehicle exports, with 250,800 units exported in the first five months. MG (owned by SAIC) followed with 168,700 units. Geely came in third with 160,900 units, marking a remarkable 103.3% year-on-year increase. Notably, 70,600 of Geely’s exports were to European markets.
BYD ranked fourth with 159,300 units exported. However, only 61.05% of these were pure electric vehicles, while the rest were plug-in hybrids—reflecting a relatively lower overseas demand for BEVs than the domestic market. Haval followed with 90,700 units, of which 95.35% were traditional fuel vehicles, and achieved an over 80% year-on-year growth.
Changan, in sixth place, exported 82,100 vehicles but saw a sharp decline of 29.1% year-on-year, making it the only top-tier Chinese automaker to experience a downturn during this period. Other brands in the top ten included Roewe (48,700 units), Jetour (41,500 units), GAC’s Trumpchi (30,800 units, up 253.04%), and JAC (27,200 units), a newcomer to the global market.
Overall, the top ten exporters fell into three tiers: four brands exported more than 150,000 units, two exported between 50,000 and 100,000 units, and the remaining four exported fewer than 50,000 units each.
On a broader scale, China’s total goods trade (imports and exports combined) for January to May stood at 17.94 trillion yuan (approx. 2.47 trillion USD), up 2.5% year-on-year. Exports in May alone rose 6.3% to 2.28 trillion yuan (approx. 314 billion USD) despite having two fewer working days than the same month last year.
China’s trade with key partners continued to grow. Exports to ASEAN rose 16.9%, to the EU 13.7%, to Africa 35.3%, and to Central Asia’s five countries 8.8%. Trade with African nations hit a historical high for this period, totalling 963.2 billion yuan (approx. 133 billion USD), with exports accounting for 599.6 billion yuan (approx. 83 billion USD), up 20.2%.
Foreign-funded enterprises remained key contributors, with their trade volume reaching 5.21 trillion yuan (approx. 719 billion USD), up 2.3%. These companies comprised 29% of China’s total foreign trade and lifted overall trade growth by 0.7 percentage points. The number of foreign-invested companies engaging in trade exceeded 73,000—the highest in five years.
Regionally, the central provinces of China outpaced the rest of the country in trade growth. The central region reported a trade volume of 1.5 trillion yuan (approx. 207 billion USD), up 11.1%, with exports growing 16.9%.
Analysts say that the continued momentum in exports—particularly in equipment manufacturing and electric vehicles—demonstrates the resilience of China’s trade sector amid global uncertainties. With leading automakers expanding their global footprint, China will likely remain a dominant player in the international EV market in the months ahead.
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