Import value of Chinese cars increased tenfold

Figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) show that Dutch consumers will have purchased fewer products imported from China in 2023 than a year earlier. It is the first time in no less than seven years that the import value of Chinese goods was lower than in the previous year. In particular, fewer items manufactured in China, such as computers, laptops and tablets, have been imported. However, considerably more cars have been brought from China to the Netherlands. In fact, passenger cars were the biggest gainer of all goods produced in China.

In 2023, 1.1 billion euros worth of cars produced in China will be brought to the Netherlands. The import value was therefore more than ten times higher than a year earlier. After all, in 2022, only 107.6 million euros worth of Chinese-built cars were shipped to the Netherlands.

Please note: these are products imported from China. It therefore seems very likely that these are cars built in China and not just cars from Chinese manufacturers. It is likely that the import value of Chinese-built cars from Western manufacturers – such as the BMW iX3, Citroën CX-5, Dacia Spring and Tesla Model 3 – has also been included in the calculations.