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Daniel Ren

Themis Qi

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers at the Beijing auto show are shifting their focus to overseas markets, banking on opportunities from the Middle East crisis to boost profitability amid weak sales at home.
“Going global has become a top choice for Chinese EV builders as they struggle to break even,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based data provider CnEVPost. “The Middle East crisis is acting as a strong catalyst to bolster their overseas deliveries.”
Nearly all major EV assemblers taking part in Auto China, the world’s largest car show, have either unveiled their latest models designed for overseas markets, or have announced growth targets for markets in Europe and Latin America, where their cars can command higher prices.
State-owned GAC Group said it would enter overseas markets with three models, including a hybrid SUV with a range of 1,240km.
“The global automotive industry is currently facing historic opportunities from technological convergence and energy transformation,” the company said in a statement on Friday. “For GAC, internationalisation is a critical leap that will determine its future.”

The Beijing car show, which runs from Friday to May 3, is being held simultaneously in two venues – the China International Exhibition Centre and the Capital International Exhibition Centre.
A total of 1,451 models, of which 181 made their global debuts, were displayed at the show, according to the organisers, who added that the exhibition area of 380,000 square metres (4.1 million sq ft) was nearly 50 per cent larger than that of the previous edition in 2024.
With no clear end to the US-Israel war with Iran – and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of oil and natural gas is transported, still closed – the popularity of battery-powered cars is rising in markets like Europe.
With the price of Brent crude rising above the psychologically significant US$100 per barrel mark on Friday, buyers were shying away from conventional cars, according to dealers and analysts.
Guangzhou-based Xpeng said it aimed to accelerate its overseas expansion this year, with Europe as its focus. The region accounted for more than half of its exports last year.
This year, Xpeng was looking to double its sales in Europe, president Brian Gu said in a media briefing at the car show.
On the mainland, carmakers’ average net margin per vehicle – the gap between the selling price and production cost – stood at about 5,000 yuan (US$732), according to Nick Lai, head of auto research for Asia-Pacific at JPMorgan Chase.
In October, he said that margin could rise fourfold to 20,000 yuan in overseas markets, where Chinese cars were sold at higher prices.
“We will begin exporting highly competitive models that are developed and produced here [in China],” said Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa. “This is a natural next step as we serve customers in many destinations around the world, where expectations are evolving more dramatically than ever before.”
A Morgan Stanley report released early this week said that Chinese carmakers would export an average of 1.2 million units a year from 2026 to 2028, up 17 per cent from its previous forecast.
Global consultancy AlixPartners found that Chinese carmakers and suppliers aimed to make international markets their main profit driver by almost tripling overseas production by 2030, according to its new report published on Tuesday.
In November, McKinsey & Co predicted that up to five Chinese vehicle assemblers, leveraging their technology and production advantages in building electric cars, were likely to make the list of the world’s top 10 carmakers by 2030, disrupting the pecking order in the global automotive industry.
BYD, China’s EV champion, and Zhejiang-based Geely Holding Group, which owns Volvo Cars, ranked among the world’s 10 largest automotive groups in terms of sales last year.


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Most carmakers taking part in the exhibition have either debuted models designed for export markets or announced expansion plans


Most carmakers taking part in the exhibition have either debuted models designed for export markets or announced expansion plans.


Chinese EV makers target global expansion at Auto China amid energy shock

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Most carmakers taking part in the exhibition have either debuted models designed for export markets or announced expansion plans

Most carmakers taking part in the exhibition have either debuted models designed for export markets or announced expansion plans