
For the first time ever! China's electric vehicle industry chain sees overseas investment surpass domestic investment.
Categories: News Center
Categories: Industry News
Time of issue:2025-08-19 13:37
According to a report released Monday by the U.S. research firm Rhodium Group, Last year, Chinese electric vehicle supply chain companies made overseas investments totaling approximately $16 billion, slightly surpassing the $15 billion invested domestically. This marks a significant shift, breaking the long-standing pattern of roughly 80% of investments being concentrated within China over the past several years.
The core driving force behind this transformation stems from multiple levels. China's domestic market is grappling with overcapacity and a prolonged price war, which have severely squeezed profit margins across the entire industry chain—from upstream to downstream. Meanwhile, to circumvent tariffs and meet overseas customers' growing demand for localized production, establishing factories overseas has become a strategic choice for Chinese enterprises.
Armand Meyer, Senior Research Analyst at Rhodium Group and author of the report, stated: "The fact that overseas investment now surpasses domestic investment reflects the saturation of the Chinese market, as well as the strategic appeal of expanding abroad for higher returns."
Battery manufacturers are leading the wave of global expansion.
The report indicates that, Approximately three-quarters of overseas investments come from power battery manufacturers, aiming to address high transportation costs and the growing demand for localized supply chains.
Ningde Times, the world's largest manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries, announced in June this year that, amid fierce competition in the domestic auto market threatening the healthy development of the entire industry, it would prioritize overseas expansion as its "top priority." Meanwhile, leading battery producers such as Envision Energy and Guoxuan High-Tech have also followed in the footsteps of their major customers by setting up operations abroad.
As China's best-selling automaker, BYD has already established factories in Brazil and Thailand and plans to build new facilities in Turkey and Indonesia. Chery Automobile has also pledged a $1 billion investment to set up an electric vehicle plant in Turkey.
Overseas projects face multiple challenges.
Although the prospect of overseas expansion is enticing, overseas projects generally face challenges such as higher costs, longer construction timelines, and greater regulatory and political risks.
The report highlights that Chinese battery factories typically begin construction within 3 to 12 months after announcement, whereas overseas projects often require 10 to 24 months. Some projects have even been forced to stall due to external risks.
The data shows that The completion rate for overseas tram manufacturing projects stands at only 25%, significantly lower than the 45% completion rate achieved domestically.
For example, BYD indefinitely postponed its plan to build a factory in Mexico last month, primarily due to geopolitical tensions and the uncertainty brought about by trade policies.
(Source: Wall Street Insight; Image source: Internet, please remove if infringing.)
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