China has reportedly become the world’s top exporter of cars, surpassing Japan and well ahead of the United States.

According to the China Passenger Car Association, China is now the world’s largest exporter of cars thanks to a massive 62 percent jump in light-vehicle exports in 2023, Automotive News reports.

In total, China’s vehicle exports hit nearly 5.3 million last year at a value of $102 billion. Japan, meanwhile, saw its vehicle exports come in at 4.3 million in 2023. As Automotive News notes, China’s closeness to Russia has helped make the communist country a powerhouse in the auto industry.

Attendees look at the U8 from Yangwang, a luxury brand of Chinese automaker BYD, during the Auto Shanghai 2023 show in Shanghai, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Auto Shanghai 2023 reflects the intense competition in China’s fast-growing electric vehicle market after the ruling Communist Party poured billions of dollars into promoting the technology. China accounted for two-thirds of global electrics sales last year. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

“Russia, Mexico and other emerging markets, along with Europe, were behind the surge in China’s vehicle exports, the group said,” Automotive News reports.

Last year, as Breitbart News reported, China surged to the top of auto exports thanks to sanctions on Russia by Western nations, including the U.S., which were imposed following the war in Ukraine.

While Western nations pulled out of Russia’s auto market, Chinese automakers were there to fill the void. In 2023, Russia became the number one buyer of China-made cars and now six of the top ten most popular car brands in Russia are Chinese automakers.

In a Senate hearing on Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Energy Department Deputy Secretary David Turk over President Joe Biden’s tax credits for EVs made in the U.S. that could end up in the hands of Chinese companies partnering with American automakers.

“Why is it that you are interpreting the administration’s climate law … to allow the tax credits to flow to Chinese entities?” Hawley asked Turk. “So now, U.S. tax dollars are literally subsidizing Chinese battery makers. Why would we want to do that? Why would we not only want to give our adversary our supply chains and jobs but pay them to take them from us? Why does that make any sense?”

“We are not doing that,” Turk said in response.

China’s domination of car exporting comes as the Chinese automaker BYD, financially backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is now the world’s biggest seller of Electric Vehicles (EVs) after overtaking U.S.-based Tesla for the title.

In the coming year, BYD and other Chinese automakers are hoping to flood the U.S. market with cheap, subsidized EVs to sell to Americans who are turned off by Tesla EVs and their high prices.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.