With its technological and cost-effective advantages, Chinese electric vehicles have always maintained a leading position, driving the rapid expansion of Chinese automobiles in the global market. According to a report by the Australian Financial Review on June 15th, the number of Chinese automobiles imported into Australia has increased by 83% over the past year, breaking Japan's 28-year monopoly as Australia's largest source of imported automobiles.
Melbourne Port is one of Australia's major ports, handling over a third of the country's container trade. Sol Cannon, the CEO of Melbourne Port, said that the port processed a record 3.5 million standard containers last year. Of these, containers from the United States accounted for only 5% of the total imports, while containers from China accounted for 52%.
Cannon said, “The number of containers imported from China is ten times that of the United States, which ranks second. Just from this point, we can see how important our trade relations with China are.”
Melbourne Port is also an important gateway for Chinese cars sold to Australia. The share of Chinese cars among the imported vehicles is growing rapidly, from 15% a year ago to 27% now, approaching the 30% share of Japanese cars. Cronin revealed, "Last year, we sold an average of 1100 cars per day, and the growth of Chinese electric vehicles has been particularly strong."
BYD's "Zhengzhou" roll-on roll-off ship arrives at Melbourne Port 《Australian Financial Review》
In Australia as a whole, the sales of Chinese cars have surpassed those from Japan, making China the largest source of imported automobiles in Australia. Data released by the Australian government on June 4 showed that in April, Australia imported nearly 36,000 passenger vehicles from China, far exceeding the 29,000 units imported from Japan. This means that in the first four months of this year, the total number of Chinese cars imported into Australia exceeded 100,000 units.
According to reports, in the year ending April this year, the number of Chinese cars imported by Australia increased by 83%. Due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, which has led to soaring fuel prices, car owners have shifted towards electric vehicles, driving an increase in sales of electric cars.
According to data from the Australian Federation of Automobile Industry Chambers and the Electric Vehicles Committee, in May this year, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and plug-in hybrids accounted for nearly half of Australia's new car sales. Among these, electric vehicles made up about one-fifth of the total sales.
According to the Australian Financial Review, BYD has now become Australia’s second most popular new car brand. Its sales in May increased by 155% compared to the same period last year, ranking just behind Japanese Toyota.
At the beginning of this month, BYD’s “Zhengzhou” roll-on roll-off ship arrived at Melbourne Port, delivering 4809 vehicles to Australia. Stephen Collins, CEO of BYD Australia, said that “Zhengzhou” usually transports vehicles to South America. However, after the attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel at the end of February this year, demand for BYD vehicles in Australia has surged.
Driven by electric vehicles in China, Australia’s shipping trade is expected to reach record levels. Cronin told the Australian Financial Review: “By the eleventh month of this fiscal year, Melbourne Port’s throughput has reached 3.22 million standard containers. If performance continues to be strong in June, we expect to set a new record for port annual throughput in Australia.”
Cameron Mitchell, head of geopolitical risk at ANZ Bank, believes that the strained trade relations between China and the US may ultimately benefit Australia in an unexpected way. "China's massive production capacity and U.S. tariffs on imports have disrupted trade channels, but it is not likely to result in a net trade loss. This is more like a redistribution of goods."
