Since the dawn of 2026, despite challenges such as escalating oil prices, purchase taxes, and the withdrawal of vehicle purchase subsidies causing a downturn in domestic auto sales, Chinese automakers have witnessed a sustained surge in their overseas sales. Recent data reveals that automobile exports have surpassed the one million unit mark for two consecutive months, specifically in June and July of this year.

The pinnacle of this export boom was reached in July, with exports soaring to 1.043 million units, marking an impressive 81.3% year-on-year increase and a slight 0.6% uptick from the previous month. Notably, NEV (New Energy Vehicle) exports alone accounted for 553,000 units, constituting 53% of the total exports. This represents a staggering 145.5% year-on-year growth and a 5.7% month-on-month increase.

Analyzing these two sets of data, it becomes evident that China's automobile exports have maintained robust double-digit growth trends both year-on-year and month-on-month in July, primarily attributable to the significant surge in NEV exports. Let's now delve into the overseas performance of domestic automakers in July.

As one might anticipate, Chery Automobile claimed the top spot with overseas sales of 203,000 units, reflecting a 70.1% year-on-year increase. After shattering China's automobile export records for five consecutive months, Chery Automobile also etched its name in history as the first Chinese automaker to surpass 200,000 monthly export units. It's worth highlighting that Chery Automobile currently excels in overseas markets with both fuel vehicles and NEVs. Taking July as an instance, NEVs constituted 41% of the 203,000 units sold.

Trailing closely behind Chery was BYD, with total exports of 180,000 units in July, representing a remarkable 124.3% year-on-year surge. BYD's remarkable growth in overseas markets can be entirely attributed to its technological prowess in the NEV sector. Whether in plug-in hybrid models or the fiercely competitive pure electric vehicle market in Europe, BYD stands as the sole automaker capable of going head-to-head with Tesla. Its Yuan UP model achieved overseas sales of 44,000 units in July, outpacing the Tesla Model Y to secure the top export spot.

The third-place finisher, Geely Automobile, also deserves commendation, with total exports of 107,000 units in July, marking a 202% year-on-year increase. This not only set a new historical high but also marked the second consecutive month of overseas exports exceeding 100,000 units. It's particularly noteworthy that Geely Automobile's rapid export growth is primarily driven by the explosive surge in NEV sales, which witnessed a staggering 616% year-on-year increase. The Geely Xingyuan ranked fifth in export model sales with 22,000 units sold.

Changan Automobile secured the fourth position, with overseas sales of 89,000 units in July, reflecting a 79.1% year-on-year increase. Similar to Geely's scenario, in addition to fuel-powered SUVs, Changan Automobile's two new energy brands, Shenlan and Qiyuan, also exhibited robust sales momentum in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. These two brands are poised to make their entry into the European market in the near future.

SAIC Passenger Cars, Tesla China, Great Wall Motors, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Leapmotor occupied the fifth to ninth positions in automaker exports, with sales volumes of 74,000 units, 66,000 units, 62,000 units, 28,000 units, and 18,000 units, respectively. Among these five automakers, Tesla China recorded the highest year-on-year increase at 130%. It must be acknowledged that Tesla's achievement of exporting over 66,000 units overseas with just two models is truly remarkable.

Among the new force automakers, Leapmotor emerged as not only the sales champion but also the leader in overseas sales. However, when compared to traditional automakers such as Chery, BYD, Geely, and even Changan and Great Wall Motors, Leapmotor still has a considerable gap to bridge in terms of overseas sales.

The aforementioned data provides an overview of automakers' overseas sales in July. Overall, Chery and BYD are leading the pack with an absolute advantage, while Geely has experienced the most significant growth.

Copyright Notice: This article is original to Che Kuaiping. Any reproduction requires prior authorization. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, and any form of plagiarism or misappropriation of text and images will be met with legal action. Some article images are sourced from the internet, and copyright belongs to the original authors. If your work is used, please contact us for royalties or deletion.