China’s EV Exports Surge 144.7% to Record in October

Key Facts

Chinese brands sold 582,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles outside the mainland in October 2026, up 144.7% year over year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association cited by the South China Morning Post. Exports reached a record for the second consecutive month, surpassing the previous record of 558,000 vehicles in September. The growth highlights broadening overseas demand for Chinese cars in a month when new energy vehicle sales in the domestic market fell from a year earlier. The newspaper attributed stronger overseas demand to the energy shock in the Middle East and higher gasoline prices, which have led some drivers to turn to electric vehicles. It said the demand wave was linked to the "energy shock in the Middle East."

China exported 928,000 passenger vehicles in October, up 68.5% year over year and 1% from September, according to data reported by Xinhua News Agency via ECNS. New energy passenger vehicles accounted for 62.8% of total exports, up 20 percentage points from a year earlier. The share shows that battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles now make up a larger portion of passenger vehicle exports. But passenger vehicle shipment growth slowed from September, when shipments rose 73.2% year over year to 923,000 vehicles, according to data cited by Reuters via Investing.com. Reuters estimated October shipments at about 932,000 vehicles, with annual growth of 68.2%, a reading that differs from the ECNS data.

By contrast, domestic retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles totaled 1.109 million units in October, down 13.7% from the same month a year earlier, despite rising 2.3% from September, according to ECNS data. These vehicles accounted for 67.5% of domestic passenger vehicle retail sales, a record share. Reuters reported that total passenger vehicle sales in China fell 27.3% year over year to 1.65 million vehicles, marking a decline for the 12th consecutive month, although the drop was narrower than September’s 28.1% fall. The figures show a divergence between export performance and weak domestic sales in October. The Associated Press said strong exports helped offset weak domestic demand.

The momentum in cars extended to China’s broader trade, with the trade surplus reaching $1.04 trillion from January to October 2026, according to the Associated Press. October’s surplus, however, narrowed to $105.3 billion from $133.5 billion in September. The agency said China’s economy is expected to meet its official 2026 growth target of between 4.5% and 5%, with strong exports helping counter subdued domestic demand. In separate price data, the producer price index rose 5.7% year over year in October, compared with a 5% increase in September, according to China’s State Council. Producers’ purchase prices for fuel and power rose 18.6%, while prices for coal mining and washing increased 36.6% and those for oil and gas extraction rose 35%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Chinese automakers are expanding into multiple markets, including Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa, as trade concerns grow among some partners, the Associated Press reported. The agency cited analysts’ estimates that Chinese automakers’ exports could approach 10 million vehicles worldwide in 2026. In the European market, an agreement sets an annual quota of 350,000 China-made hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. European officials said coordinated monitoring through the customs agencies of EU countries could begin in December, and shipments would stop once the quota is reached. The secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association said the Middle East could be a major driver of export growth next year, but noted that the outlook is uncertain and overall export growth is likely to slow.