Chery Leads, Geely Soars: Roundup of Overseas Sales by Top 5 Local Brands

Recently, Chery Automobile disclosed its 2026 semi-annual performance. Data shows that in the first half of 2026, Chery's revenue was 143.28 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 8.567 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.7%. Among them, overseas market revenue reached 98.968 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51%, accounting for 69.1% of total revenue, making the overseas market the most important source of growth for Chery.

Chery's performance also reflects the overall trend of Chinese independent brands accelerating overseas expansion. From Jan. to July 2026, China's cumulative car exports reached 6.14 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 66.8%. Among the top 5 independent car companies, Chery's overseas sales reached 1.1464 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 71.26%, continuing to lead the Chinese car export market; BYD followed closely with 969,200 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 76.14%. Of note, although Geely Automobile's overseas sales were 580,900 vehicles, they surged 164.78% year-on-year, with the growth rate ranking first among the five companies; Changan Automobile and Great Wall Motor had overseas sales of 544,600 and 353,400 vehicles respectively, increasing 56.12% and 48.01% year-on-year. It is clear that the overseas market is becoming an increasingly important source of sales volume for Chinese independent brands.

First Place: Chery Automobile 1,146,350 Vehicles

From Jan. to July 2026, Chery's overseas sales reached 1.1464 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 71.26%, accounting for over 70% of total sales, making the overseas market the main source of Chery's sales growth. In terms of trend, Chery's overseas sales continued to climb, with exports in July alone reaching 202,000 vehicles, breaking the 200,000 vehicle milestone for the first time. Having established its overseas presence early, Chery has now entered a period of rapid sales volume expansion.

Chery's strong overseas performance is not like "suddenly stepping on the gas", but the result of years of overseas deployment gradually bearing fruit. By continuously advancing overseas factory construction, local R&D, and channel development, Chery continuously refines its localized operation system, laying the foundation for sustained growth in overseas sales. As the SUV product line continues to perfect and new energy technologies such as hybrid power accelerate completion, Chery's competitiveness in markets like the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe is also improving, and overseas sales naturally grow faster and faster.

Second Place: BYD 969,208 Vehicles

From Jan. to July 2026, BYD's overseas sales reached 969,200 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 76.14%, accounting for 43.5% of total sales for the same period. Actually, this result is not unexpected. In 2025, BYD's overseas sales already exceeded 1 million vehicles, with a year-on-year increase of 145%. In the first half of this year, its overseas sales exceeded 780,000 vehicles again, with the overseas market maintaining rapid growth.

Behind this growth, the key lies in playing the three cards of technology, products, and localization together. Blade batteries, DM hybrid technology, etc., continue to improve, with pure electric and hybrid models covering different market needs. At the same time, BYD is promoting local production and channel construction in places like Brazil and Thailand, further expanding overseas market coverage. Currently, new energy vehicles have entered more than 120 countries and regions.

It can be seen that while BYD stabilizes its core market in the domestic market, overseas sales are also growing rapidly. With the continuous expansion of the overseas market, BYD's future growth space will also extend further to the global market.

Third Place: Geely Automobile 580,891 Vehicles

From Jan. to July this year, Geely's overseas sales were 581,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 164.78%. Among them, overseas single-month sales in June and July continuously broke through 100,000 vehicles. The overseas market is gradually changing from "incremental supplement" to a new growth engine for Geely.

While overseas sales grew, Geely's overall performance also improved. Revenue for the first half was 173.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%, with core net profit attributable to shareholders of 9.684 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46%. The profit growth rate was significantly faster than revenue, further enhancing profitability.

With the accelerated growth of the overseas market, Geely has raised the annual overseas sales target from 640,000 vehicles to 920,000 vehicles, and is striving for 1 million vehicles. To support this target, Geely is also accelerating its overseas localization deployment, through overseas factory construction and improving sales networks, to enhance production and sales capabilities in the local market. Currently, Geely has operated 12 manufacturing factories overseas, with overseas capacity exceeding 650,000 vehicles, sales channels exceeding 2,000, covering 114 markets.

In the next step, Geely not only needs to continue to expand overseas sales, but also to improve the profitability of the overseas market through local production, R&D, and sales, making the overseas market form a more stable source of revenue and profit.

Fourth Place: Changan Automobile 544,592 Vehicles

From Jan. to July this year, Changan Automobile's overseas sales reached 545,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 56.12%. While sales grew rapidly, Changan was also accelerating the implementation of the "Haona Baichuan" Plan 2.0, with the overseas expansion mode shifting from simply selling cars to further moving towards industrial and system-based overseas expansion.

Specifically, on one hand, Changan brings core technologies such as Blue Whale Super Engine Hybrid and Tianshu Intelligence overseas, forming a unified technical support; on the other hand, it adjusts products according to the needs of different countries, rather than using one car to cover all markets. For example, Qiyuan Q05 entering Uzbekistan, and the fourth-generation CS55PLUS launching in Saudi Arabia, are all product adjustments made for the local market.

At the same time, Changan Automobile continues to improve overseas manufacturing bases in Thailand, Brazil, and other places, and local talent and sales systems are also being promoted in sync. Production, talent, and channels are rolled out together, giving Changan's overseas deployment a more solid foundation for continuous expansion.

Fifth Place: Great Wall Motor 353,441 Vehicles

From Jan. to July this year, Great Wall Motor's overseas sales reached 353,400 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 48.01%. The growth rate of the overseas market is significant, bringing more new volume to Great Wall.

Of course, this achievement benefits from Great Wall's continuous promotion of overseas localization operations. Great Wall adheres to "One Region One Policy, Ecosystem Win-Win", adjusting products and operating strategies for different markets. Currently, Great Wall has built complete vehicle production bases in Thailand and Brazil, and has deployed car assembly factories in multiple countries, with overseas sales channels exceeding 1,600. This has gradually perfected the local production, sales, and service systems. Compared to simple export, this localization model is also more conducive to Great Wall rooting in the overseas market for the long term.

With the continuous expansion of the overseas market, Great Wall has turned its gaze back to the European market, and plans to increase overseas sales to 1 million vehicles by the end of 2030. The scaled expansion of the overseas market remains the focus for Great Wall's next stage.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, Chery continues to lead in overseas sales of Chinese independent brands, BYD follows closely, and Geely, Changan, and Great Wall also maintain relatively fast growth in overseas sales. With leading independent brands continuously accelerating overseas deployment, the overseas market is gradually becoming a new growth space for Chinese car companies.

Car companies collectively accelerating overseas expansion, on one hand, is due to slowing incremental growth in the domestic car market, intensifying price war competition, and the increasing difficulty of obtaining incremental growth solely relying on the domestic market. On the other hand, after years of technical accumulation, the advantages of Chinese car companies in new energy, intelligence, and supply chains are continuously enhancing, and product competitiveness is also improving, providing stronger support for further expanding the overseas market.

Now, car companies going overseas is no longer just exporting cars overseas, but further expanding the local market through factory construction, laying channels, and perfecting localized services. Next, the real test for car companies is whether they can let the overseas market continue to release volume and finally achieve stable profitability.