China has surpassed last year's annual car export record in the first eight months of this year, EV outlet Electrek reported on Wednesday. China exported 6.2 million passenger cars in January to August, already exceeding the 2025 full-year total of 6.1 million.

The key is the expansion of EV exports. As of August, China's EV exports rose 154.7 percent from a year earlier. EVs include battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). They accounted for 58.4 percent of China's total auto exports in August, a share that is steadily rising.

EV sales are also increasing in China's domestic market, but the outlet said overseas demand is rising more steeply. It said BEV sales posted only a slight increase inside China, while they surged in overseas markets, with Chinese companies meeting that demand. Electrek said: "If China exports about 9 million vehicles by the end of this year and a little more than half of them are EVs, it could end up exporting more EVs than any country's total vehicle exports."

The gap with Japan, used as a comparison, is also widening. Japan exported 5.1 million vehicles in all of 2025. China has already far exceeded that figure based on cumulative exports through August alone. This has raised the possibility that China's full-year export growth rate could reach about 50 percent.

Signs of change are also emerging in export value, not just volume. The outlet noted that Germany is still maintaining an edge in export value by selling more expensive vehicles, but China's export value is rising quickly while Germany's is declining. If the two trends continue, it said there is a view that China could take the top spot in export value this year or next year. China's automobile export value already exceeded $100 billion last year.

These changes align with a rapid shift in China's export structure toward EVs. Electrek said China was the world's sixth-largest car exporter as recently as 2020, but has quickly climbed the rankings by pushing EVs. It said China became the world's top auto exporter in 2024 and has since continued to see EV exports rise, driven by price competitiveness and technological capability.

The market environment is also working in China's favour. The outlet said rising energy prices this year have further stimulated EV demand. It also pointed to moves by the U.S. and European auto industries to pull back from expanding EV production, arguing that this has increased China's presence in global markets. It went on to assess that the United States and Europe are stepping back from supplying the vehicles the world wants, handing China an easy victory.

China's record-breaking performance shows that the global auto export landscape is being reshaped around EVs, not just higher sales. With more than half of its export volume made up of EVs, the share of EV exports and the pace of growth in export value over the rest of this year are expected to be key points to watch.