Smart car (Amsterdam)
Among continents, European countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of exported electric cars during 2017 with shipments valued at $4 billion or 47.3% of the global total. In second place were North American exporters at 39.2% while 13.4% of international sales of electric cars originated from Asia.
Much smaller percentages came from Oceania (0.02%) specifically Australia and New Zealand, African exporters (0.005%) in South Africa, Ghana and Namibia, then Latin American nations (0.001%) Ecuador and Australia.
The 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 870380 for motor vehicles powered by electric motor only (also called electric smart cars). This is a relatively new HTS code and 2017 is the first year for which trade data specific to electric cars is available.
Top Electric Cars Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of electric cars during 2017.
- United States: US$3.3 billion (39.2% of exported electric cars)
- Germany: $1.6 billion (18.3%)
- Netherlands: $1.3 billion (15.2%)
- Japan: $597.8 million (7%)
- France: $533.3 million (6.3%)
- South Korea: $421.2 million (5%)
- Belgium: $171.5 million (2%)
- Spain: $114 million (1.34%)
- China: $110.1 million (1.3%)
- United Kingdom: $105.2 million (1.2%)
- Slovakia: $93.3 million (1.1%)
- Austria: $49.5 million (0.6%)
- Sweden: $19.1 million (0.22%)
- Denmark: $17.7 million (0.21%)
- Slovenia: $16.4 million (0.19%)
The listed 15 countries shipped 99.2% of all electric cars exported in 2017 by value.
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for electric cars during 2017. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported electric cars and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- United States: US$3 billion (net export surplus)
- Netherlands: $1 billion
- Germany: $970.3 million
- Japan: $509 million
- South Korea: $357.4 million
- France: $250.3 million
- Slovakia: $70.6 million
- Slovenia: $6.9 million
- Spain: $846,000
- Croatia: $569,000
- Namibia: $70,000
The United States has the highest surplus in the international trade of electric cars. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for electric cars during 2017. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported electric cars purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Norway: -US$1.6 billion (net export deficit)
- China: -$1.4 billion
- Canada: -$472.8 million
- United Kingdom: -$337.8 million
- Hong Kong: -$263.7 million
- Switzerland: -$239.1 million
- Sweden: -$149.2 million
- Austria: -$145.2 million
- Belgium: -$124.1 million
- Australia: -$102.6 million
- Portugal: -$73.3 million
- Italy: -$65.7 million
- Bangladesh: -$63.5 million
- Taiwan: -$57.6 million
- United Arab Emirates: -$48.4 million
Norway and China incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of electric cars. Albeit based on early and limited data, these negative cashflows highlight both country’s apparent competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for electric cars-supplying countries that help satisfy their powerful consumer demand.
Companies
Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles
Below are major global automobile makers with facilities for producing electric plug-in cars or hybrid vehicles. Shown within parenthesis is the country where each corporation has its headquarters.
- BMW i (Germany)
- BYD Auto Co. (China)
- Daimler AG (Germany)
- Ford Motor Company (United States)
- General Motors (United States)
- Nissan (Japan)
- PSA Group (France)
- Renault (France)
- Rimac Automobili (Croatia)
- Tesla (United States)
- Toyota (Japan)
- Volkswagen Group (Germany)
Searchable List of Exporters for Electric Cars
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns.
| Rank | Exporter | 2017 Electric Cars Exports | %World Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $3.3 billion | 39.2% |
| 2. | Germany | $1.6 billion | 18.3% |
| 3. | Netherlands | $1.3 billion | 15.2% |
| 4. | Japan | $597.8 million | 7% |
| 5. | France | $533.3 million | 6.3% |
| 6. | South Korea | $421.2 million | 5% |
| 7. | Belgium | $171.5 million | 2% |
| 8. | Spain | $114 million | 1.34% |
| 9. | China | $110.1 million | 1.3% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $105.2 million | 1.2% |
| 11. | Slovakia | $93.3 million | 1.1% |
| 12. | Austria | $49.5 million | 0.6% |
| 13. | Sweden | $19.1 million | 0.22% |
| 14. | Denmark | $17.7 million | 0.21% |
| 15. | Slovenia | $16.4 million | 0.19% |
| 16. | Italy | $14.9 million | 0.18% |
| 17. | Hong Kong | $8.4 million | 0.1% |
| 18. | Switzerland | $7.8 million | 0.09% |
| 19. | Poland | $7.1 million | 0.08% |
| 20. | Luxembourg | $5.3 million | 0.06% |
| 21. | Hungary | $3.7 million | 0.04% |
| 22. | Lithuania | $3.4 million | 0.04% |
| 23. | Finland | $3.2 million | 0.04% |
| 24. | Czech Republic | $2.3 million | 0.03% |
| 25. | Croatia | $2.2 million | 0.03% |
| 26. | Macao | $1.8 million | 0.02% |
| 27. | Norway | $1.6 million | 0.02% |
| 28. | Portugal | $1.5 million | 0.02% |
| 29. | Australia | $1.4 million | 0.02% |
| 30. | Canada | $997,000 | 0.01% |
| 31. | Turkey | $989,000 | 0.01% |
| 32. | Estonia | $524,000 | 0.01% |
| 33. | India | $484,000 | 0.01% |
| 34. | Vietnam | $442,000 | 0.01% |
| 35. | New Zealand | $414,000 | 0.005% |
| 36. | Thailand | $356,000 | 0.004% |
| 37. | Malta | $353,000 | 0.004% |
| 38. | Kazakhstan | $277,000 | 0.003% |
| 39. | South Africa | $199,000 | 0.002% |
| 40. | Romania | $129,000 | 0.002% |
| 41. | Ghana | $122,000 | 0.001% |
| 42. | Latvia | $122,000 | 0.001% |
| 43. | North Korea | $118,000 | 0.001% |
| 44. | Serbia | $109,000 | 0.001% |
| 45. | Namibia | $73,000 | 0.001% |
| 46. | Ecuador | $57,000 | 0.001% |
| 47. | Greece | $54,000 | 0.001% |
| 48. | Faroe Islands | $51,000 | 0.001% |
| 49. | Russia | $41,000 | 0.0005% |
| 50. | Armenia | $33,000 | 0.0004% |
| 51. | United Arab Emirates | $32,000 | 0.0004% |
| 52. | Venezuela | $19,000 | 0.0002% |
| 53. | Bulgaria | $17,000 | 0.0002% |
| 54. | Curaçao | $7,000 | 0.0001% |
| 55. | Pakistan | $6,000 | 0.0001% |
| 56. | Indonesia | $5,000 | 0.0001% |
| 57. | Montenegro | $5,000 | 0.0001% |
| 58. | Israel | $2,000 | 0.00002% |
See also Electric Cars Imports by Country, Cars Exports by Country, Cars Imports by Country and US Exported & Imported Cars by State
Research Sources:
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 24, 2018
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on September 24, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on September 24, 2018
Wikipedia, Electric vehicle manufacturers. Accessed on September 24, 2018
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