SAIC-GM-Wuling's August: Domestic Dual Lines Succeed, Overseas Reach 1.6 Million

Earlier, SAIC-GM-Wuling's August sales figures were released: 130,870 units. One number seems to lack weight. But if you look at the cumulative curve from January to August together, you can realize this is not that simple.

January was 37,929 units, and by August the cumulative total reached 484,300 units. There isn't a single month on this curve that is flat. Every month goes up. The proportion of new energy vehicles is rising synchronously. By January to August, it has broken through the volume of 920,000 units, among which new energy vehicles contributed 926,124 units, accounting for more than 70%. In the era of joint-venture fuel vehicles five years ago, such a structure was simply impossible.

So what Wuling has done in this round is more like measuring how far it can run with another rhythm.

What is truly worth mentioning is the figure of 1.6 million.

August overseas single-month sales were 38,600 units, exceeding 30,000 units overseas single-month for 5 consecutive months. Overseas cumulative sales have broken through 1.6 million units. Chinese car exports have been called for many years, but truly building a brand to a global scale of 1.6 million units and stably outputting 30,000 units overseas in a single month is rare.

More importantly, Wuling's overseas business is not simply whole-vehicle trade. India, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Wuling has done localized manufacturing and supply chain layout in multiple countries. Once this model runs smoothly, it means local users are buying more like Wuling's industrial capability itself locally. This moat is more meaningful than simple sales figures.

What is truly interesting this year is Wuling making moves on both ends.

Let's first talk about the upward-moving Huajing S. Launched in May, 3,603 units delivered in May, 5,689 in June, 7,203 in July, 7,306 in August. This curve has climbed steadily for four consecutive months. In July, it topped the plug-in hybrid large SUV sales list. Cumulative deliveries from May to August reached 23,801 units.

You should know, Huajing S starts at the 200,000-yuan tier, focusing on large six-seater SUVs, equipped with Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving System. A full-size large six-seater SUV with Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving System as standard equipment across the entire 200,000-yuan tier. This strategy has never appeared in Wuling's history.

In other words, Wuling has been locked within the 100,000-yuan price band for a long period in the past. National God Car, Wuling Hongguang, are all stories of this price point. Moving up a step to the 200,000-yuan market, and competing on the same stage with joint-venture brands and new forces, means Wuling's upward move has been successful.

The other car is Starlight L, which defends the basic market. 6,553 units in August single month, up 16% month-on-month from the launch month. The only large six-seater in the 100,000-yuan tier. This niche track rarely had decent products in the past. User demand has actually always been there.

Starlight L extends the car length to nearly 5 meters, wheelbase 2,950 mm, with a 2+2+2 true six-seater layout. Lingxi Power 3.0, Shenlian Battery, 1260 km comprehensive range, 4.9L fuel consumption with depleted battery. These technologies originally belonging to higher price points have been brought down directly by Wuling to the 100,000-yuan tier. More importantly, the supporting supply chain: Baosteel steel, BASF automotive paint, Fuyao glass, Michelin tires, Magna safety parts. All these supply chains with the same source and materials as luxury cars are now in place. The vehicle high-strength steel accounts for 75%, key parts use 1500 MPa aviation-grade hot-formed steel, and high-strength protective steel plates are even stuffed into the third-row seat backs.

Looking at these two cars together, the logic becomes clear. Huajing S opens up Wuling's ceiling in the 200,000-yuan tier. Starlight L raises the standard of the basic market in the 100,000-yuan tier. Both lines are doing the same thing: forcing higher-level product power into more mainstream price bands.

This breakthrough is more significant for the industry than doubling sales. It means the transformation of traditional automakers doesn't necessarily have to clear assets from the past to start over. They can retain the original basic market while recreating a brand upward. This path of incremental upgrade has actually been walked by Wuling.

For Huajing S to stand firm in the 200,000-yuan tier, confidence comes from two national-level hard supports. One is the National Quality Standards Laboratory, which is the first and currently the only approved construction in automaker enterprises, a full-link verification system from project initiation, testing to mass production. The second is the Intelligent Island Manufacturing System, selected into the national first batch of lead-level intelligent factory cultivation list. Vehicle assembly accuracy is at the 0.1 mm level, and production assembly error rate is zero.

In the context of the Chinese automotive industry, this level of investment was built up gradually over the past decade. Cooperating with top supply chain partners like Baosteel, CATL, Fuyao Glass, Autoliv, what Wuling does is actually quite simple: make every car close to zero defects.

What is truly unexpected is user feedback. Active users of assisted driving account for 95%. Net Promoter Score is 86 points, ranking first among new cars on NPS. 54.8% of users consider assisted driving as the primary decision factor for car purchase.

A large six-seater SUV at the 200,000-yuan tier. 95% of users use assisted driving every day. An NPS of 86 means the vast majority of owners are willing to recommend it to friends. 54.8% of people paid specifically for assisted driving.

This is real word-of-mouth. The front-stage outcry from KOLs is just one aspect. More importantly, it is feedback thrown out with real money from users in car usage scenarios. Huajing S's sales rising for four consecutive months is essentially this word-of-mouth being cashed into orders in the market.

If viewed only from an industry perspective, the lesson Wuling gives the entire industry in this round comes down to one sentence.

Transformation does not need to be at the cost of scale. Going overseas does not need to rely on low prices. Premiumization does not need to abandon the original basic market.

These three common sense points were repeatedly questioned in the Chinese automotive industry over the past few years. Many brands gave up their original markets to do new energy. To go premium, they completely changed the original user profiles. To go overseas, they pressed prices to the floor, and ended up being labeled as low quality and low price.

Unknown Car Domain: Wuling's moves in this round are simpler. Hongguang MINIEV's sixth anniversary of launch, global cumulative sales break through 3 million units. The basic market is not lost. Huajing S takes a step up. Starlight L makes the large six-seater a first-tier category in the 100,000-yuan tier, exerting force at both ends. New energy proportion exceeds 70%. Overseas exceeds 30,000 units in a single month for 5 consecutive months. Prices are not in price wars.

This balance comes from years of deep accumulation leading to a breakthrough in supply chain, manufacturing systems, and channel layout. So let's go back to the 130,870 units at the beginning. The number itself is not important. What is important is that behind this number, Wuling is walking a path that many Chinese automakers want to walk but haven't managed to. The keyword of this path is balance.