BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua Silk Road) -- Chinese automakers are moving beyond relying primarily on vehicle exports to expand their overseas markets, and are instead stepping up efforts to build integrated overseas networks covering manufacturing, supply chains and after-sales services.
The shift marks a transition from simply exporting products to building overseas ecosystems.
Building an overseas ecosystem is a systematic project that encompasses supply chains, supporting services, standard coordination and cultural integration, with the aim of establishing a localized full industrial chain covering supply chains, service networks, standards adaptation and local talent development, in addition to manufacturing capabilities.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 10 major Chinese automakers, including Geely, SAIC Motor and BYD, have accelerated their global expansion. XPeng Motors' third localized production base has begun operation in Malaysia. A battery assembly plant jointly established by Leapmotor and Stellantis has been launched in Spain.
Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China's automobile exports reached 6.14 million units in the first seven months of this year, up 66.8 percent year on year.
In May alone, monthly registrations of Chinese-brand passenger vehicles in Europe surpassed those of Japanese-brand vehicles for the first time, indicating a shift in overseas consumers' perceptions of Chinese automobiles. Industry insiders expect that under an optimistic scenario, China's annual automobile exports could exceed 10 million units this year.
As competition intensifies in China's domestic auto market, going global has evolved from an option into a necessity for automakers. Multiple factors have driven automakers to shift their focus from selling products to overseas markets to building ecosystems abroad, establishing a comprehensive overseas operating system covering production, supporting industries and services.
On the one hand, differences in driving conditions and consumer preferences across regional markets have made inadequate localization a constraint on overseas expansion; on the other hand, the mode of short-term disassembled parts assembly is a practical way for automakers to gain an initial foothold in overseas markets, but issues including unstable supply chains, insufficient after-sales services and low-end brand positioning have also emerged.
Major automakers have taken the leading roles in driving the localization and restructuring of entire industrial chains in overseas markets.
Take Changan Automobile's operations in Thailand as an example. The company has been building a comprehensive auto parts supply system within a 300-km radius of its factory, while simultaneously developing an after-sales service network and hiring a large number of local employees. This approach enables the company to become more deeply integrated into the local economic cycle.
For small and medium-sized automakers with annual production capacities of 100,000 to 300,000 vehicles, it is challenging for them to independently deal with the complicated overseas environment involving compliance, logistics and after-sales services.
In response, some regional industrial platforms have integrated domestic supply chain resources and established overseas interaction centers to coordinate with overseas automakers, develop overseas SKD centers, cross-border warehousing and logistics facilities, and after-sales service centers.
These approaches not only help lower the barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to expand overseas, but also avoid wasting resources.
Beyond building new production capacity, the ecosystem-based overseas expansion also focuses on making better use of existing global resources. By integrating and leveraging existing resources, companies can improve operational efficiency while aligning more closely with the broader trend of global industrial collaboration. (Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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