China's auto exports continued to surge in August, with monthly shipments exceeding 1 million vehicles for the third consecutive month, underscoring the growing role of overseas markets in supporting the country's auto industry.

China exported 1.01 million vehicles in August, up 65.3 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday. Exports declined 3.2 percent from July.

New energy vehicle exports rose even faster, reaching 526,000 units, up 134.8 percent from a year earlier, although they fell 5 percent month-on-month.

The strong export performance came as China's overall auto market remained under pressure. Domestic auto sales fell 24.2 percent year-on-year in August to 1.70 million units.

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"Auto exports have continued to grow rapidly," said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the CAAM.

Exports are increasingly acting as a "stabilizer" for China's auto industry, Chen said, adding that the country's auto exports are shifting from a period of short-term volume expansion to a phase of more stable scale.

In the first eight months of the year, China exported 7.153 million vehicles, up 66.7 percent year-on-year. New energy vehicle exports surged 1.2 times to 3.435 million units.

Thanks to exports, China's total auto sales totaled 20.315 million units in the first eight months, down 3.8 percent year-on-year.

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Of them, new energy vehicle sales rose 10.7 percent year-on-year to 10.65 million units. NEVs accounted for 52.4 percent of total new vehicle sales during the period.

The figures highlight the growing importance of overseas markets as Chinese automakers expand beyond their domestic market, particularly in the new energy vehicle segment.

Chen said companies now need to move from "selling products" to "building systems" overseas, turning their first-mover advantages into longer-term market shares.

The shift points to a broader change in the globalization of China's auto industry, as automakers increasingly invest in overseas sales networks, manufacturing capacity, after-sales services and localized operations rather than relying solely on vehicle exports.