Light-vehicle exports from Chinese auto factories lost more ground in the first half of the year as key overseas markets remained depressed by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first six months, shipments of light vehicles including sedans, crossovers, SUVs and minibuses from China slipped 12 percent to some 289,000, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said this week.
In June alone, exports shrank 36 percent to around 44,000.
Two leading domestic light-vehicle makers posted steep declines last month, with exports at Geely Automobile Holdings falling 34 percent to 4,109 and shipments dropping 46 percent to 3,592 at Great Wall Motor Co.
Other major producers haven’t released export data for June.
In 2019, some 725,000 light vehicles were shipped from China, a drop of 4.3 percent from a year earlier.
The main overseas destinations for China-made light vehicles are developing countries, including Russia, as well as markets in the Middle East, North Africa and South America.