According to data from the General Administration of Customs, my country’s auto parts export trade volume reached 324.6 billion yuan in the first half of this year. If the export of complete vehicles is also included, the overall trade volume reached 391.76 billion yuan. A considerable proportion of the 1.22 trillion yuan in cross-border e-commerce exports are related to auto parts.
So why can Chinese auto parts suppliers still grow against the wind when the global economy is weak?
In this regard, Pan Zhehu, regional director of eBay China’s cross-border trade division, once said: “The decline in global consumer power is an opportunity for Chinese auto parts sellers to grow against the wind.” Why? He told a very interesting story. He said, “Once I saw a classmate in the United States dismantling the engine for repair by himself. I asked him, can you really repair it? He said, if I can repair it, I will make money, if I can’t repair it, I will take it to the repair shop. The United States is a country on wheels, and the labor cost is high. They are very hands-on, so the C-end demand in the American auto aftermarket is particularly strong.”
Therefore, the reason why Chinese auto parts can develop is that the auto parts produced by Chinese companies are of good quality and low price. Some local car owners or consumers in Europe and the United States like to place orders directly on e-commerce platforms and wait for the goods to arrive. After that, they repair the car by themselves, which not only saves money, but also avoids the trouble of going to the repair shop.
After all, in places like the United States, repairing cars by yourself is also a traditional skill. It’s just that in the past, e-commerce was not developed, and they all bought parts locally. Now, China’s developed e-commerce logistics and automobile industry have made global shopping of auto parts possible.
Data shows that since 2016, some of the leading domestic cross-border e-commerce companies have begun to build warehouses and logistics systems overseas. Especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, China has gradually strengthened this efficient system in the process of exporting medical products, which has also laid the foundation for the subsequent export of Chinese auto parts overseas.
At present, China’s auto parts exports are mainly for the C-end, that is, car owners, mainly to meet their modification or light maintenance needs, such as changing tires, changing wheels, or replacing brake pads. In addition, some magic modifications of LED headlights may also need to purchase parts from China. With the maturity of China’s new energy vehicle industry, many local charging operators also purchase charging piles, charging guns and other accessories from China.
According to the analysis of the well-known institution McKinsey, the total scale of the global auto parts aftermarket will reach 1.3 trillion US dollars in 2030, of which North America is the largest, accounting for a quarter of the global total share. This is closely related to the local people’s preference for self-repair. Half of the local accessories will come from imports, and China is the largest exporter of auto parts. The second largest market size is in the UK and Germany, which shows that Europe is also a region with a large demand for auto parts.
It can be seen that the suppression of the Chinese auto industry by European and American countries will eventually bring trouble to themselves. At least from the perspective of ordinary European consumers, the suppression of the Chinese auto industry is a matter of harm and no benefit. Facts have also proved that the strong rise and export of the Chinese auto industry is an unstoppable trend.
Post time: Mar-27-2025
