File photo/Sun Tongtong (NBD)

Recently, according to data compiled by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) based on customs statistics, China's automobile exports in the first quarter of this year reached 1.07 million units, a year-on-year increase of 58.1%.

Meanwhile, data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association showed that Japan's automobile exports in the first quarter were 954,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%.

It means that in the first quarter of this year, China surpassed Japan to become the world's largest exporter of automobiles.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers had previously predicted that China's automobile exports this year would reach 4 million units, a year-on-year increase of nearly 30%, and is expected to exceed Japan's automobile exports for the whole year.

China's automobile exports are gradually strengthening.

In 2002, China's annual automobile exports were only 20,000 units. In 2012, China's automobile exports exceeded one million units for the first time, and since then, China's automobile exports have remained at around one million units. However, this situation has changed in the past two years.

In 2021, China's automobile exports exceeded 2 million units for the first time, reaching 2.015 million units, surpassing South Korea and ranking behind only Japan and Germany.

In 2022, China's automobile exports for the whole year reached 3.11 million units, surpassing Germany to become the world's second largest automobile exporter after Japan.