China's EV industry is spending more on factories abroad than at home for the first time

BEIJING — Chinese electrical car companies are expanding investments successful overseas factories arsenic they ramp up contention against Tesla and different planetary automakers.

For the archetypal clip since records going backmost to 2014, the Chinese electrical car proviso concatenation past twelvemonth invested much extracurricular the state than astatine home, according to a U.S.-based consulting steadfast Rhodium Group study published Monday.

The bulk of announced overseas investment, oregon 74%, was successful artillery factories, the study said. But it noted concern successful assembly plants overseas was besides "growing rapidly."

The spending plans travel arsenic Chinese automakers face aggravated contention astatine home and higher tariffs connected exports. Boosting investments overseas tin assistance Chinese businesses triumph overseas governments' enactment for marketplace expansion.

"Growing regulatory pushback successful big markets similar the EU is raising barriers to introduction and volition propulsion much Chinese companies to found section manufacturing operations," the Rhodium study said.

The Chinese electrical car industry's home concern successful manufacturing tumbled sharply to $15 cardinal successful 2024 from $41 cardinal successful 2023 — aft peaking astatine implicit $90 cardinal successful 2022 successful announced projects, according to Rhodium data.

While overseas concern has remained acold lower, it "narrowly surpassed" home levels successful 2024 for the archetypal time, the study said, without sharing an nonstop figure.

Automotive was the second-most progressive assemblage for Chinese outbound concern successful the 2nd 4th this year, according to a abstracted Rhodium survey released precocious July. The materials and metals assemblage ranked first.

"We recorded higher than accustomed enactment by EV parts manufacturers, with 8 transactions exceeding $100 million," the July study said. "The largest among them was led by GEM, a Chinese artillery materials manufacturer, which committed $293 cardinal to grow its ternary precursors installation successful Indonesia."

Several overseas mill projects announced successful caller years person besides begun operations.

Great Wall Motor announced implicit the play it opened its first mill successful Brazil connected Friday section time. The institution is besides reportedly considering different mill successful the region and would marque the determination arsenic soon arsenic the mediate of adjacent year. The Chinese automaker did not instantly respond to a CNBC petition for comment.

BYD besides started accumulation astatine its archetypal Brazil mill successful July, contempt getting fined earlier successful the twelvemonth implicit labour practices. The Chinese electrical car elephantine has sold much than 545,000 cars overseas this twelvemonth arsenic of July, exceeding the full of much than 417,000 vehicles for the full of 2024, according to CNBC calculations of publically disclosed data.

Earlier this summer, Chinese artillery supplier Envision announced successful June it officially started accumulation astatine its archetypal mill successful France.

However, those investments overseas comprise completed projects only.

Just 25% of each announced overseas manufacturing plans by the Chinese electrical car manufacture person been completed, acold beneath the 45% complaint for those astatine home, Rhodium said successful Monday's report, noting projects extracurricular the state are doubly arsenic apt to get cancelled.

"Chinese firms volition besides person to negociate Beijing's expanding interest implicit exertion leakage, occupation losses, and concern hollowing-out, which whitethorn effect successful tighter controls connected outbound concern successful strategical sectors," the study said.

—CNBC's Victoria Yeo contributed to this report.