Wuhu Update: Chery EV Exports Surge via Wuhu Port — Trade Impact

Record Export Year for Wuhu’s EV Industry

Chery (奇瑞, Qíruì), Anhui (安徽, Ānhuī) province’s largest automaker and one of China’s leading vehicle exporters, has achieved a remarkable milestone in 2025: 189,000 electric vehicles exported through the Wuhu Port (芜湖港, Wúhú Gǎng), representing a 63% year-over-year increase from 116,000 units in 2024. This surge underscores Wuhu’s emergence as a critical gateway for Chinese EV exports and highlights the strategic importance of the Yangtze River (长江, Cháng Jiāng) deep-water port infrastructure in supporting the country’s automotive export ambitions.

Chery’s Global Export Engine

Headquartered in Wuhu (芜湖, Wúhú), Chery has transformed from a domestic-focused manufacturer into a global automotive powerhouse. The company’s rapid export growth has been driven by two dedicated EV brands: OMODA (欧萌达, Ōuménɡdá) and JAECOO (捷途, Jiétú). OMODA targets style-conscious urban buyers with compact electric crossovers, while JAECOO focuses on rugged SUVs for emerging markets. Together, these brands accounted for 72% of Chery’s EV export volume through Wuhu Port in 2025, with the remaining 28% comprising Chery-branded sedans and commercial EVs.

Chery’s total vehicle exports — including internal combustion engine vehicles — reached 680,000 units in 2025, making it China’s second-largest vehicle exporter after SAIC Motor. The EV share of Chery’s total exports has climbed from 18% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, reflecting the accelerating global transition to electric mobility and Chery’s strategic bet on affordable EVs for international markets.

Wuhu Port Infrastructure Driving Export Growth

The Wuhu Port, situated on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, benefits from deep-water berths that can accommodate Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) vessels of up to 60,000 deadweight tonnage. In 2025, the port authority completed an expansion adding three new Ro-Ro berths, bringing the total to eight dedicated vehicle-handling berths. This expansion increased the port’s annual vehicle-handling capacity from 400,000 units to 600,000 units — a critical enabler for the surging export volumes.

Customs clearance procedures at Wuhu Port have been streamlined for EV exports, with the average clearance time now approximately 48 hours from arrival at the port to vessel loading. This efficiency — achieved through dedicated EV inspection lanes, paperless documentation systems, and pre-clearance programs — gives Wuhu a competitive edge over other Yangtze River ports. The Wuhu Customs District (芜湖海关, Wúhú Hǎiguān) processed over 189,000 EV export declarations in 2025, up from 116,000 in 2024, with a 99.7% clearance rate on first submission.

Export Market Distribution

Chery’s EV exports through Wuhu Port reach six continents, but the geographic concentration reveals clear strategic priorities. Southeast Asia has become the company’s largest market, driven by rapidly growing EV adoption in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. European markets — particularly Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom — represent the highest-value segment, while South American markets offer volume growth potential.

Wuhu Port’s Broader Trade Profile

While EV exports are the headline story, Wuhu Port’s overall throughput demonstrates its critical role in Anhui’s economy. The port handled 1.2 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in total containerized cargo in 2025. EV exports, though still a small fraction of total container volume, now account for approximately 15% of Wuhu Port’s export value — a sharp increase from just 4% in 2022. The average value per EV exported is estimated at ¥185,000 (~$25,600), compared to the port’s average containerized export value of approximately ¥65,000 per TEU. This means EVs punch well above their weight in terms of economic contribution.

Beyond finished vehicles, Wuhu Port also handles significant volumes of EV components — battery packs, electric drive modules, charging equipment — destined for Chery’s overseas assembly plants in Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia. These component shipments added an estimated 45,000 TEU to port throughput in 2025, representing an additional ¥8.3 billion in export value.

Trade Policy and Tariff Dynamics

The surge in Chery’s EV exports comes amid a complex global trade environment. The European Union’s provisional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs — ranging from 17% to 36% depending on the manufacturer — have prompted Chery to accelerate plans for European assembly. Chery announced in December 2025 that it will build an assembly plant in Barcelona, Spain, scheduled to begin operations in 2027, which will import knocked-down kits from Wuhu rather than fully assembled vehicles. This strategy is expected to maintain or grow European market share while mitigating tariff exposure.

For Southeast Asian markets, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) provides preferential tariff rates of 0-5% for EVs with at least 40% regional value content. Chery is responding by establishing CKD (completely knocked down) assembly operations in Thailand and Indonesia, where vehicles assembled from Wuhu-supplied kits qualify for the lower tariff rates. These facilities are expected to absorb an additional 50,000 EV kits from Wuhu Port annually by 2027.

Logistics and Supply Chain Implications

The 2026 export target of 280,000 units will require further port capacity enhancements. The Wuhu Port Authority (芜湖港务局, Wúhú Gǎngwù Jú) has announced plans to add two additional Ro-Ro berths by mid-2027 and to deepen the existing navigation channel from 9 meters to 11 meters to accommodate larger Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels. Current vessel loadings at Wuhu average 3,500 vehicles per sailing, but the deeper channel would allow 6,000-vehicle PCTCs, reducing per-unit shipping costs by an estimated 18%.

Inland logistics from Chery’s Wuhu manufacturing complex to the port have also been optimized. A dedicated 12-kilometer electric truck corridor — using 200 battery-electric heavy trucks — now moves finished vehicles from the factory to port holding lots in an average of 45 minutes, a 30% improvement over the previous diesel-truck system. This corridor reduced carbon emissions by 8,400 metric tons in 2025 and serves as a model for industrial port logistics across China.

Economic Impact on Wuhu

The EV export boom has significant downstream effects on Wuhu’s economy. The port-related EV export ecosystem now employs approximately 4,200 workers directly and supports an estimated 11,000 indirect jobs in logistics, customs brokerage, vehicle processing and preparation, and marine services. The total tax revenue generated by EV exports through Wuhu Port in 2025 is estimated at ¥1.6 billion, including corporate income tax, value-added tax, and port usage fees.

Wuhu’s transformation into a major EV export hub also attracts related investments. In the first half of 2026, three international logistics companies — including DHL Global Forwarding and Sinotrans (中国外运, Zhōngguó Wàiyùn) — have established dedicated EV export processing centers at the Wuhu Port Logistics Park. These centers provide vehicle inspection, battery preconditioning, customs documentation, and last-mile transport coordination services specifically designed for EV export shipments.

Outlook

With a 2026 target of 280,000 EV exports through Wuhu Port and continued infrastructure investment, Chery and the Wuhu Port Authority are positioning the city as a top-tier Chinese EV export gateway. As global demand for affordable electric vehicles continues to rise — particularly in Southeast Asia and South America — Wuhu’s strategic location along the Yangtze River, its deep-water port infrastructure, and the strength of the Chery manufacturing ecosystem make it uniquely suited to capture a growing share of China’s automotive export market. The city that built its modern identity around automotive manufacturing is now poised to become a critical node in the global electric vehicle trade network.

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