China Auto Parts Exports

In recent years, the wave of Chinese cars going global has been extremely hot, and at the same time, the popularity of exporting auto parts products has also remained high.

On December 4, 2024, a reporter from Huaxia Times learned at the Frankfurt Shanghai Auto Parts Exhibition that domestic automotive parts companies are accelerating their overseas expansion with their technological, cost, and service advantages. Especially for some small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers, most of their orders come from overseas markets.

Xie Lianghong, a small and medium-sized enterprise service expert from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the reporter of Huaxia Times that the rise of new energy vehicles and the upgrading of traditional fuel vehicles have opened a new window for the export of auto parts. Chinese auto parts enterprises have ushered in tremendous opportunities with their complete industrial chain, large-scale production, and cost advantages. However, how to establish a localized after-sales service network from logistics transportation to after-sales service has become the key to the success of enterprise exports.

Domestic auto parts exports are booming.

The Yangtze River Delta region has a large number of automotive parts companies, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Frankfurt Shanghai Auto Parts Exhibition, with these companies becoming the main force of the exhibition. The reporter learned that there were over 3300 companies from the Yangtze River Delta region at this exhibition.

According to the "Analysis of Development Trends and Investment Prospects of China's Automotive Parts Industry (2024-2031)" released by Guanyan Report Network, China's automotive parts industry has formed six major automotive parts clusters: Northeast China, Beijing Tianjin Hebei Bohai Rim, Central China, Southwest China, Pearl River Delta, and Yangtze River Delta. The total production value of parts in these industrial clusters accounts for about 80% of the entire industry. Among them, the output value of auto parts in the Yangtze River Delta accounts for about 37% of the market share, making it the largest region in terms of domestic auto parts output value.

The reporter learned from the international cross-border e-commerce platform eBay that auto parts sellers in the Yangtze River Delta region are very active. In 2023, the best-selling products of auto parts sellers in the Yangtze River Delta region are car lights, steering and suspension, engine cooling related accessories and other categories, with sales growth exceeding 20% year-on-year. The top four overseas markets with the highest sales are the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.

With the continuous development of the automotive industry and the increasing prosperity of global trade, going global has become an important direction for many auto parts companies seeking growth. During the on-site interview at the exhibition, the reporter found that many small and medium-sized auto parts manufacturers' orders mostly come from overseas.

A staff member of a Jiangsu auto parts manufacturer told the Huaxia Times reporter that the company's customers are mainly in North America and Europe, and its sales through cross-border e-commerce platforms reached billions of yuan last year. The head of a Zhejiang auto parts company also told reporters that 80% of the company's products are sold overseas, and it has expanded from the European and American markets to the Southeast Asian market. Next year, it hopes to grow in the Southeast Asian market.

The high number of cars in the United States and the prevalence of modified car culture make it one of our largest markets, "Li Qiaozhi, Deputy General Manager of Chongqing Guogui Racing Technology Co., Ltd., told the Huaxia Times reporter. The company has long been engaged in the production of modified car products overseas, and now 90% of its exports are through cross-border e-commerce platforms.

Before 2021, our exports doubled every year. This year's growth is about 20%, and next year we expect to have a growth of 30%. "Li Qiaozhi said that the company's independent brand has millions of modified car enthusiasts in the global modified car market.

According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, the export value of China's automotive spare parts from January to August 2024 was approximately 438.406 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. Among them, in August alone, the export amount reached 57.592 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%. According to data released by Changjiang Securities, the overseas business revenue of listed companies in China's automotive parts industry increased from 67.29 billion yuan to 228.51 billion yuan from 2015 to 2023.

Lin Shi, an automotive industry analyst and Secretary General of the China Europe Association for Intelligent Connected Vehicles, told the Huaxia Times reporter that unlike China, European and American countries do not have a mandatory scrapping policy. Therefore, there are many old cars that are 10 or 20 years old, and they need a large number of parts. The products of domestic auto parts enterprises are often cost-effective and have strong competitiveness.

Lin Shi said that auto parts companies must establish brand awareness so that consumers can make regular purchases and not give up their products due to price fluctuations.

On the road of Chinese enterprises going global, they inevitably have to face challenges. When mentioning the issue of the United States imposing tariffs, Li Qiaozhi said, "From an internal perspective, we believe that we still need to firmly establish our own brand, strengthen product research and development, and avoid the impact of tariffs

Li Qiaozhi believes that besides tariffs, many other factors can actually affect a company's profits. For example, fluctuations in exchange rates, product certification cycles, changes in automotive environmental standards, etc. In fact, tariffs do not account for a particularly high proportion in our pricing system, so the impact is not particularly significant. We still have confidence in maintaining growth in the next two years, "said Li Qiaozhi.

New trend of auto parts going global

In the wave of upgrading the automotive industry, Chinese automotive parts enterprises have stepped into a new trend, and cross-border e-commerce has opened up new blue oceans for the automotive aftermarket. According to eBay data, the export sales of Chinese auto parts sellers have grown astonishingly in the past decade, with headlight and taillight assemblies increasing nearly 20 times and bumpers increasing 59 times.

The decline in global consumer power is an opportunity for Chinese auto parts sellers to grow against the wind, "said Pan Zhehu, Regional Director of eBay China Cross border Trade Division, to reporters from Huaxia Times. In 2016, some top e-commerce companies began building warehouses overseas, and after the pandemic in 2020, the penetration rate of online business soared. These auto parts companies have laid a solid foundation in these years.

During the 2024 Shanghai Frankfurt Auto Show, eBay released the "2025 Automotive and Motorcycle Parts Overseas Strategic Category" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), which showed that relying on the advantages of China's mature auto parts industry belt, Chinese sellers have outstanding sales performance in the categories of suspension and steering, engine and accessories, gearbox and transmission, exhaust system, air conditioning system and ignition system and accessories. The sales of the above categories achieved double-digit growth year-on-year, with sales of air conditioning system related categories increasing by over 20%.

Looking at the global auto parts market, the current German and British markets have faster growth rates and greater potential. The report shows that the average age of cars in Germany and the UK has exceeded 10 years, and their automotive aftermarket is rapidly growing, bringing more demand for online purchases. Chinese sellers have seen a nearly 20 fold increase in headlight assembly sales on eBay UK compared to the previous year; At the German station, sales of charging station equipment increased by 60% year-on-year, and the growth of taillight assemblies and turbocharging exceeded 10 times.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the culture of automotive parts modification is prevalent, and there is a strong demand for new products. The report shows that the global car modification market exceeds 52 billion US dollars, and the nearly 290 million passenger car ownership and DIY culture in the US market bring a large demand for modification. On the eBay platform, there is strong demand for categories such as power systems, wheel hubs, tires, and exterior modifications. Lightweight and high-precision wheel hub modification parts such as carbon fiber and magnesium alloy are widely popular on the platform.

Yi Peng, the head of eBay's auto parts category, told the Huaxia Times reporter that the global car ownership exceeds 1.5 billion units, the US after-sales market volume exceeds 300 billion US dollars, and Europe is also close to 300 billion US dollars, with an average growth rate of 8%. In addition, the online growth rate is close to 16%, which is twice that of the offline aftermarket. At the same time, the global penetration rate of aftermarket e-commerce is only about 10%. Yi Peng predicts that in 10 years, it is expected to grow to 20% -30%, and the scale of automobile and motorcycle distribution companies will reach 200 billion -300 billion US dollars.