Honda’s China venture ships first cars abroad as country’s auto industry pursues status as world’s largest exporter
- Dongfeng Honda Automobile said its first export shipment of plug-in hybrid and battery-powered EVs is en route from Shanghai to Belgium
- The cars will be sold in several European countries in the latest example of China’s rising power in the global car industry
Dongfeng Honda Automobile, a 50-50 joint venture between the Japanese company and its Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Group, said on Tuesday that hundreds of CR-V hybrids and pure electric e:NS1s had begun their voyage from Shanghai to Zeebrugge, Belgium, on May 15.
The cars are expected to reach the Belgian port in late June before being delivered to European countries including the UK, Iceland, Greece and Portugal.
It is the first time that the venture, based in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province, has exported Chinese-made cars amid Beijing’s ambitions of building itself into a global powerhouse in EV manufacturing.
“Dongfeng Honda will take advantage of opportunities abroad to bolster overseas shipments,” the company said in a statement on its official WeChat account. “Chinese quality will dazzle the world.”
