China sold more cars abroad than any other nation in the first quarter in part because of a sales jump to customers in Russia, reports Bloomberg. The Asian country exported 1.07 million vehicles in the three months through March, overtaking long-time leader Japan, consultancy AlixPartners said Monday.
China delivered 112,000 vehicles to Russia—roughly the same amount it sold there during all of last year. Western automakers have largely abandoned shipments to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The success of Chinese brands elsewhere in Europe and the US remains limited—they sold just 900,000 vehicles there last year. Still, the consultancy expects China’s shipments to those markets to jump 67% by 2026 as companies including BYD and Xpeng bolster their efforts to expand abroad.