China will soon be the largest vehicle exporter for the first time. In the first quarter of 2023, it overtook car-making giants Japan and Germany. Chinese manufacturers exported more than 1.06 million vehicles in the first three months of 2023. They overtook Japan's number of 1.05 million. China's car industry has advanced a lot. Throughout the 2010s, it produced around a million cars a year. That doubled to two million in 2021 and then to three million in 2022. China is forecast to quadruple production from four years ago to be the world's largest auto exporter.

China is also leading the way in electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla has a giant "gigafactory" in China. It has a capacity of 1.25 million vehicles a year, but is yet to make that amount. The factory exports many cars to Canada, Europe and Japan. Tesla is about to lose its crown as the world's largest EV maker to China's BYD. Last month, BYD launched a compact EV with a starting price of $11,000. The top country China exports cars to is Russia. Exports to Russia have been boosted by Western countries putting trade sanctions on Moscow.