How China became the world's largest car exporter

Pushback from worried trading partners is unlikely to undercut its dominance

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NEW YORK - Just two decades ago, China had little capacity to make cars, and owning one was considered novel. Today, it produces and exports more cars than any other country in the world.

US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose new tariffs on China. Many countries, including the US, already levy extra tariffs on China's electric vehicles (EVs). But with all of the advantages China wields in making cars, this pushback is unlikely to undercut its dominance.

China's home market for car sales is the world's largest - almost as big as the US and European markets combined.

As China's domestic market grew, so did its production capacity, propelled by massive government investment and world-beating advances in automation. Yet in recent years, the pace of sales has fallen behind as consumer spending slows in the nation's economic downturn.

The result is that China today has the capacity to make nearly twice as many cars as its consumers need.

To deal with the excess, it has increasingly looked overseas to sell cars.

China is a leader in the transition to EVs and it exports more of them than any other country. Chinese brands such as BYD are becoming known worldwide for offering advanced electric cars at the most competitive prices.