The intelligent heavy trucks are manufactured by SAIC Hongyan. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

Automotive exports have become a new economic engine to accelerate the automotive market in Liangjiang New Area, Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

Over the first four months of this year, the automobile exports of the new area reached 7.8 billion yuan ($1.12 billion), a surge of 53 percent.

Statistics show that over this period, Liangjiang's vehicle output stood at 51.2 billion yuan, up 4 percent year-on-year, including the new energy vehicle (NEV) output of 12.47 billion yuan, 128 percent up compared with the same period over the last year.

Recently, SAIC Hongyan delivered 100 intelligent heavy trucks to Kazakhstan. Based on the Belt and Road Initiative, the company started to lay out businesses in the Central Asian market since 2020, and it has already sold over 800 vehicles in the region this year.

From January to April, Changan saw its overseas automobile sales grow by an increase of 16.7 percent. In the future, the company plans to build manufacturing bases in Thailand, Europe, and America. By 2023, Changan is expected to sell more than 1.2 million automobiles to overseas customers.