The automotive export figures released at the close of October 2024 indicate that China has increased its lead over Japan, defying tariffs. After achieving a lead in 2023, China expanded its export gap throughout 2024 by meeting international standards and by addressing key market opportunities.

Capturing much attention, China’s automotive exports have given the Asian country a significant lead over Japan, which held the title of the world's largest vehicle exporter for nearly five decades until last year.

China exported 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, out numbering Japan’s vehicle exports at 4.42 million units. Between January 2024 and September 2024, China exported 4.7 million units. Japan, on the other hand, shipped 3.06 million units.

While Japan’s vehicle exports declined by four percent in the period between January 2024 and September 2024, China’s vehicle exports grew by a good 26.7 percent year-on-year.

The factors that are said to have contributed to a rise in vehicle exports by China are an outlook for new opportunities the world over against a saturating domestic market. The other reason is the significant uptick in electric vehicle adoption at 38.6 percent.

Chinese companies like BYD have found a strong hold in export markets of Europe despite tariffs. This Chinese electric vehicle company has smartly moved up in valuation as compared to Tesla of USA.

Increasingly aligning with international demand, Chinese vehicular exports have come to include competitively priced SUVs and technologically advanced EVs that rival European and US counterparts in quality and appeal.

What is perhaps very interesting is how China's export reach has shifted in the last few years. From focusing on Africa and less-developed regions, Chinese automakers have come to target higher-income, densely populated countries in other continents to ensure a significant export growth.

EVs clearly remain a stronghold, accounting for a substantial chunk of the export volume. The Asian country exported 1.77 million EVs in 2023. This accounted for over 30 percent of its total vehicle exports.

The first nine months of 2024 saw EV exports from China accounting for 1.524 million units, representing 32.4 percent of all auto exports – a 22 percent increase from the same period last year.

Among the export markets that Chinese vehicle manufacturers have targeted are in Europe, Asia, Central and South America and the Middle East.

To counter tariffs, Chinese vehicle manufacturers are luring buyers in the overseas markets by providing cost-effective, feature-rich vehicles interestingly.

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JSW MG Motor India has announced that its popular electric vehicle offering, the MG Windsor, has clocked a new sales milestone with sales crossing 20,000 units in six months of launch.

This makes it the fastest-selling electric vehicle in India. Launched on 11 September 2024, the company positioned the Windsor as a CUV (crossover utility vehicle) and the most comfortable EV in its segment.

Rakesh Sen, Director Sales & Marketing, JSW MG Motor India, said, “Since its launch, the MG Windsor has delighted car buyers with its exceptional value proposition. Customers have praised its futuristic design, intuitive tech features, spacious cabin, all combined with a sustainable and pocket-friendly driving experience. In addition, with the MG Windsor, we have successfully addressed category barriers and dispelled several myths around EVs in India through our innovative approach. This has enabled newer customers to adapt to the EV lifestyle. These factors have propelled MG Windsor to become the fastest EV model to achieve 20,000 sales milestone in record time.”

The Windsor EV is available at a starting price of INR 999,000 and INR 3.9 per km under the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model. The MG Windsor EV with 38 kWh Li-ion battery pack, delivers 100 KW (136ps) of power and 200Nm of torque with an ARAI-certified range of 323 km.

CUPRA has announced that its latest electrified SUV, the CUPRA Terramar, has achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating. The sporty SUV secured maximum score and joins the CUPRA Tavascan, CUPRA Born, CUPRA Formentor and CUPRA Leon.

The CUPRA Terramar achieved outstanding scores in all three of the Euro NCAP test areas – Vulnerable Road User (82 percent), Adult Occupant (89 percent) and Child Occupant (87 percent), thanks to its suite of advanced safety system. The CUPRA Terramar received a score of 76 percent in the Safety Assist category, which is the last component of Euro NCAP's evaluation.

To ensure that cars are as safe as possible for all users of the road, especially the most vulnerable, Euro NCAP's test procedures are revised on a regular basis. More stringent requirements will be enforced by Euro NCAP in 2025, including biomechanical values of the occupants, rescue sheets in all EU languages, vehicle immersion tests to guarantee the exit of occupants by ensuring the operation of relevant electrical systems for a specific period of time, new leg impactors in pedestrian protection tests that evaluate the femur and tibia more realistically and new active safety scenarios to enhance and lessen damage to other road users.

Dr Werner Tietz, Executive Vice-President – Research and Development, CUPRA, said, “The CUPRA Terramar’s 5-star Euro NCAP rating is a reflection of the importance we place on safety, not only for the vehicle’s occupants but every road user. CUPRA’s new sporty and electrified SUV embraced the challenge, and thanks to its suite of advanced safety system, was able to join the CUPRA Tavascan, Born, Formentor and Leon with the maximum score possible.”

IKEA Supply, part of Inter IKEA Group, has deployed the first electric heavy-duty truck to run on the public road network in India in collaboration with its carrier BLR Logistiks, as well as other partners.

The truck just finished its 100th trip carrying IKEA goods between the port of Mumbai, the distribution centre (DC) in Pune and the IKEA store in Mumbai. The deployment phase began in October 2024. In addition to lowering transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, it has produced notable efficiency improvements, such as a turnaround time reduction of two to one day, an annual cost reduction of 16 percent, a yearly reduction of 30 percent in greenhouse gas emissions for the particular route, and an annual reduction in empty runs of about 160,000 kilometres.

In order to expedite container processing and establish new agreements between the land carrier running the route and the ocean service provider delivering the containers to the port, IKEA has shortened procedures with Indian customs. In order to facilitate the rollout, the land carrier has made investments in the necessary charging infrastructure. Transportation-related CO2 emissions account for around five percent of the IKEA value chain's overall carbon footprint. By 2030, IKEA wants to cut the carbon footprint of all its transportation by an average of 70 percent. This accomplishment is also a crucial step toward the goal of using exclusively zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles by 2040.

Claes Lindgren, Acting Category Transport Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations, said, "Although the purchase price of electric vehicles is higher than diesel trucks, we have achieved higher efficiency and cost reductions in the long term. This is an important step for IKEA and a strong signal to the transport sector in India. Through a joint effort with our partner, we have optimised the route, ensuring the truck is used more on the road and less during idling in loading and unloading processes.”

Abhishek Goyal, Director at BLR Logistiks, said, “We are happy with what we have achieved for this specific route and look forward to applying this way of working in the future. This deployment in India represents an example of how we create efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle company Ola Electric has commenced what could be seen as the next evolution of the automotive purchasing experience. The company has commenced pilot ‘HyperDelivery’ for its range of e-scooters, which will see customers get same-day delivery and registration for their EV.

HyperDelivery is being tested in Bengaluru, which will then be rolled out in a phased manner across India. HyperDelivery is being tested in Bengaluru, which will then be rolled out in a phased manner across India.

“We have significantly cut the processing time of registering the vehicles through AI-led automation and by moving the registration process completely in-house. We are excited to announce #HyperDelivery which has completely transformed the vehicle purchase and delivery experience in the automotive segment. With this we are ensuring a much smoother purchase experience for our customers, eliminating tedious purchase processes and longer delivery timelines,” said the company in a statement.

The EV maker shared that it is leveraging AI to automate the majority of the steps in a registration process, which eliminates the need for additional resources during the typical registration process.