BEIJING (NEWSnet/AP) — China's auto exports surged 63.7% in 2023, while domestic sales, boosted by year-end incentives, rose 4.2%, an industry association said.

The surge in exports, to 4.1 million according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, may propel China past Japan as the world’s No. 1 exporter of cars. Japan exported 3.6 million cars in the first 11 months of the year, with a final tally expected Jan. 31.

Chinese automakers have aggressively expanded exports in search of growth as China’s economy slows. They have also pushed into electric vehicles as government subsidies transformed China into the world's largest EV market, even as car sales have stagnated overall.

Tesla Model Y was the best-selling electric vehicle in China last year, with 646,800 units sold, followed by BYD Song  sedan at 428,600 units, according to the passenger car group.

Auto sales within China totaled 21.9 million in 2023, down from a peak of about 24 million in 2017.

An explosion in sales to Russia helped to boost China's exports in 2023, as European and Japanese manufacturers pulled back because of the war in Ukraine. China exported 840,000 vehicles to Russia in the first 11 months of 2023, including trucks, buses and cars.

China Passenger Car Association said demand in Russia and neighboring countries is slowing and future export growth will depend on an expansion of EV sales overseas. Chinese EV makers have targeted markets in Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia, among others.

A Chinese shipyard delivered the country's first domestically built freighter to transport cars this week, the builder, CIMC Raffles Group, said on social media. BYD Explorer No. 1, which can carry 7,000 vehicles, is being loaded at two ports before departing for Europe. BYD, which is leasing the ship, is China's biggest maker of EVs.

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