Workers assemble vehicles in a smart factory of the Changan Auto in Chongqing, southwest China, June 16, 2022.(Photo/Wang Quanchao, Xinhua)

Chongqing - Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a key hub of the country's auto industry, experienced a notable increase in automobile exports from January to November 2023.

According to data from Chongqing Customs, Chongqing exported 334,000 units of vehicles in the first 11 months, a year-on-year increase of 28.1 percent.

Chongqing is promoting the rapid development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. The city's 16 NEV enterprises produced 394,000 units of NEVs in the period, up 23.6 percent year on year, according to the Chongqing economic and information commission.

Changan Auto, a major carmaker in the city, significantly boosted Chongqing's auto exports. In 2023, the overseas auto sales of the company's own brands exceeded 230,000 units, hitting a record high.

To meet the logistics demand for car exports, Chongqing has launched streamlined channels. From January to October 2023, the Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway, the first China-Europe freight train route, handled the import and export of more than 80,000 vehicles, with a value of about 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars).

In November 2023, Chongqing rolled out a plan to enhance its auto exports, targeting a goal where, by 2027, the city's annual vehicle export volume will account for 10 percent of the country's total annual vehicle exports.