China possibly surpasses Japan to become world's largest automobile exporter

(ECNS) -- According to data released Thursday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers that cited the General Administration of Customs, China exported about 1.07 million vehicles in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 58.1 percent over the same period last year.

Data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association showed that Japan's automobile exports in the first quarter hit 954,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 5.6 percent.

The above data indicates that China has possibly surpassed Japan in automobile exports in the first quarter of this year and is expected to become the world's largest exporter.

China manufactured 2.133 million vehicles and sold 2.159 million vehicles in April, an increase of 76.8 percent and 82.7 percent respectively over the same period last year. Production and sales of new energy vehicles hit 640,000 and 636,000, both increasing by 1.1 times year-on-year.