World press review
The Center for Economic Research and Reforms prepared a digest based on economic analyses from Bloomberg and Reuters. The analyses cover overcapacity in the global automotive industry and the growth of clean energy technology imports in the Global South countries.
World press review
The global automotive industry is facing a problem of excess production capacity. According to a study by BloombergNEF, the annual production capacity of the global auto industry stands at 142 million vehicles. Sales are projected to reach 85 million units in 2026. As a result, excess production capacity is reaching 57 million units per year.
The average capacity utilization rate of auto plants is 60 percent. However, a minimum rate of 80 percent is required to break even.
Over the last decade, global auto production capacity has increased by 28 million units, with China accounting for 80 percent of this growth. During the same period, car sales increased by only 5 million units. China currently accounts for more than a third of global auto production capacity, while its share of global car sales stands at around 25 percent.
By 2030, production capacity for internal combustion engine vehicles is projected to decline by 5 million units, while capacity for electric vehicles and hybrid production lines is expected to increase by more than 10 million units.
Global South countries are increasing imports of clean energy technologies. According to the Ember think tank, since the beginning of 2024, Global South countries have spent over $235 billion on imports of Chinese clean energy technology. Their share of global imports of Chinese energy equipment has exceeded 50 percent.
During this period, imports of power grid equipment by Global South countries amounted to $25.3 billion (51.5 percent of the global total). The rest of the world spent $23.8 billion (48.5 percent). Major importers include India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Brazil, South Africa, and Vietnam.
Imports of heating and cooling equipment reached $26 billion (55.3 percent), while in the rest of the world this figure stood at $21 billion (44.7 percent).
Global South countries spent $47 billion (55.4 percent) on imports of Chinese solar panels. In the rest of the world, this figure was $37.8 billion (44.6 percent).
In January–August 2026, imports of Chinese electric vehicles by Global South countries reached $73.2 billion. In the corresponding period of 2023, this figure was $6 billion.
Since 2024, Global South countries have accounted for 29 percent of global spending on imports of Chinese battery energy storage systems, while the rest of the world accounted for 71 percent. At the same time, spending by Global South countries on purchasing these systems increased from $9 billion in January–August 2024 to $21 billion in the same period of 2026, representing a growth of more than 2.3 times.