ChinaChina exported more than 1 million passenger vehicles in a single month for the first time in June 2026. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) put the figure at 1.037 million cars, up 75.1% from the same month a year earlier.
For the first half of 2026, China’s total car exports reached 5.096 million, a 65.3% increase year on year. New energy vehicles (NEVs), CAAM’s category covering battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell models, accounted for 2.355 million of that total. NEV exports alone hit 523,000 in June, the first time the monthly figure has topped half a million.
Exports have become the main offset for a soft domestic market. CAAM figures show NEV sales inside China fell 13.4% in the first half of 2026, even as overseas shipments kept climbing.
The car figures track a broader export surge. Reuters reported that China’s overall exports rose 27% in June, pushing the country’s trade surplus to $125.6 billion for the month, with the boost linked in part to demand tied to the AI buildout.
