According to CCTV International's report on January 25, the latest statistics from China Customs show that in 2003 China’s auto product imports reached a record high of US$14.447 billion, an increase of 84% year-on-year. The annual export of automotive products was only US$4.71 billion, an increase of 34%.
In addition, in the import of automotive products, the total vehicle imports reached 5.25 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 63%; the import of key auto parts reached 2.99 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 132%; the number of auto spare parts imports was 6.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 85.7%.
Experts pointed out that a large number of imported key auto parts and accessories have supported the continuous launch of new domestic models and provided a basis for domestic auto production to exceed 2 million. At present, there is still a big gap between China's auto industry and foreign countries, and it is unrealistic to export a large number of vehicles in the short term. However, China's auto parts industry has developed to a fairly high level, and it is fully contingent that it will achieve rapid growth in auto parts exports in the short term.