China's manufacturing PMI for March was 50.5, showing a 0.59% decrease year over year but a 0.3% increase month over month.
According to statistics released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on April 11, China's automobile production and sales for the first quarter of 2025 reached 7.56 million units and 7.47 million units, respectively. This represents increases of 14.5% in production and 11.2% in sales year over year. Among these figures, electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 3.18 million units produced and 3.08 million units sold, representing impressive year-over-year increases of 50.4% and 47.1%, respectively. As anticipated, the automotive industry has had a strong start given the current macroeconomic environment.
The China Machine Tool & Tool Builders’ Association (CMTBA) released recent statistics on April 16, showing that the import value of metal cutting machines was $710 million, a decrease of 10.7% year over year. Additionally, the import value of metal forming machines was $100 million, down 21.2% year over year.
On April 8, the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) reported that over 61,300 excavators were sold in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 22.8% year-over-year increase. Domestic sales accounted for more than 36,500 units, representing a 38.3% increase year over year, and over 24,800 units were exported, reflecting a 5.49% year-over-year growth. The rise in excavator sales is viewed as a barometer of infrastructure construction, signaling a recovery in China’s domestic demand.
A few recently announced projects and investment news items are listed below.
HYLI Create Energy Technology will invest $685 million to establish a solid-state battery production line with a capacity of 10 GWh, which will be developed in three phases. The facility's construction for the first phase is expected to be completed this August, and its battery products are scheduled to be delivered in November.
Chuang Jie Automation plans to invest $15.75 million to import horizontal machining centers and purchase vertical machining centers for automotive component production lines for EVs with an annual output of 100,000 units.
Anhui Zhong Shi Da Automobile Industrial Engineering plans to invest $13.7 million to make molds and produce stamping and pressing parts with an annual capacity of 8 million pieces.
Suzhou Hehui Vehicle Lighting will invest $137 million to build a new facility and purchase production equipment to achieve a target of 1.2 million vehicle lighting kits annually.
Shandong Bolt Heavy-Duty Industry Tech will invest $22 million to build a facility and purchase a five-sided machining center and a horizontal boring mill to produce mining machinery.
Alfa Laval will invest $205 million to expand the production scale and capacity for heat exchangers with an annual output of 400,000 units.
Bosch will invest $410 million in Jiangxi to establish an annual production capacity of over 400,000 units for the company’s e-Drive system.
Vitesco Technologies will invest $34 million to manufacture its third-generation control unit for automatic transmissions, which will have a production capacity of 1 million units per year.
For more information, please contact Fred Qian at fredqian@AMTchina.org
