Exports from China to Europe have surpassed exports from Europe to China
- Chinese car exports to the European Union have surpassed European car exports to China. This trend is evident in 2025, as EU car exports to China fell by 34% to €16 billion, compared to €24.2 billion in 2024, while Chinese car exports to the EU rose by 8% to €22 billion, up from €20.4 billion. Consequently, the EU recorded a trade deficit of €6 billion in 2025, compared to a surplus of €3.8 billion in 2024.
- But in fact, in terms of volume, Chinese car imports to the European Union surpassed European car exports to China as early as 2024 , reaching 455,000 units that year (compared to 350,000 in 2023), while the EU exported only 300,000 to China. By 2025, China had exported 620,000 cars to the EU.
- This distortion between value and volume is due to the fact that cars exported from China to the EU represent less in value than cars exported from the EU to China at the same volume, given that Chinese cars exported to Europe are mid-range and mid-priced while cars exported from the EU to China (often German) are high-end and high-priced (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati).
- It should be noted that of the 620,000 cars exported from China to the EU in 2025, 116,000 will be European or American brands (compared to 182,000 in 2024) and 504,000 will be Chinese brands (compared to 273,000 in 2024). The number of European or American cars exported from China to the EU is trending downward.