China now exports more cars than Germany - gaining on Japan

China took the Number 2 spot in global vehicle exportation. Japan is still #1, China is #2, and Germany is now #3. And China is closing in on Japan fast. Yep sit tight – because you’ll probably be able to buy your next car on Amazon soon enough lol.

According to an article on Carscoops…

Chinese-made automobile exports exploded by over 50% in 2022, with EVs being a driving force behind the accelerated growth. That makes sense. But what’s got me scratching my head, is that 1st-world governments (like those of the US & Europe, which are home to legacy car makers)… are on stage promoting an agenda that ‘EV is the future’. But what they’re sweeping under the rug for some reason… is that China has been playing the long-game on this for decades. And China is in control of 1) A majority of rare earth minerals needed for EV production, AND 2) The actual/physical production of those minerals into EV batteries.

And China has wasted zero moments seizing this opportunity to finally infiltrate the automotive industry globally. Why just make parts for other foreign car manufacturers… when you could make the whole damn car yourself? Can’t blame ‘em for that; it’s smart. But it seems exceptionally ironic that ‘green’ is the pretense on which one of the dirtiest production-method countries in the world will become a global player in the automotive industry. Again, with the assist coming straight from the governments of developed countries… countries who are home to legacy car makers.

But – the automotive industry also did this to themselves in many ways…

And made their own beds so to speak. Generally speaking, the automotive industry lost touch with passion, cut the best cars out of their lineups, and repeatedly built easy appliance-like vehicles that were less & less engaging. And more & more vanilla. They built cars for people who didn’t love cars, and compromised the spirit out of auto-culture one generic crossover at a time. And by doing so, they created a generally apathetic consumer overall. To the point where the masses now have very little appreciation for the essence of driving. Driving is a distraction in the modern era, not a desire for most people. And that falls on the auto manufacturers for not doing more to draw people in.

And as proven time & time again… the Chinese formula works.

When there is a lack of overall passion for a product (as there is now with automobiles), people will accept a lesser version of it… so long as it’s easy enough & cheap enough. High volume; low quality. The race to the bottom will eventually catch us all.