Suddenly, the "Ning King" came out to make a splash again.

On the evening of July 24, CATL released two major documents simultaneously. One was the 2026 Interim Financial Report. Revenue in the first half was 276.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 54.80%. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 43.284 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.98%. Calculated, this means daily earnings of 240 million yuan.

The other was a buyback plan, proposing to use funds not less than 20 billion yuan and not more than 40 billion yuan to buy back A-share shares for cancellation, with a buyback price cap of 573 yuan per share, a premium of nearly 50% compared to the closing price of the day. This amount cap set a record high for single share buybacks in the history of A-shares.

At the same time, multiple new energy vehicle manufacturers successively released half-year profit forecasts, with many facing profit pressure. Industry chain profits are visibly concentrating on the battery segment, and this is indeed a major source of CATL's profits. However, if you turn to the details of CATL's financial report, you will find a fact overlooked by the outside world.

That is CATL's true growth engine is actually not just power batteries. Or rather, the game CATL is playing is far bigger than what the outside world sees.

Beyond Vehicle Power Batteries, Pulling Up a Second Growth Curve

In CATL's financial report, the most worth noting is its healthy revenue structure. In the first half, the power battery business contributed 192.125 billion yuan in revenue, accounting for 69.38%, remaining the absolute major portion. However, the performance of the other two businesses is also inescapable, showing a trend of accelerated growth.

First, energy storage battery business revenue was 53.261 billion yuan, accounting for 19.23%, a year-on-year increase of 87.54%. Battery materials and recycling, mineral resource business revenue was 18.811 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 67.23%.

More critically, power battery gross margin of 20.63% and energy storage battery 23.96% both saw year-on-year declines, while the gross margin of battery materials and recycling business reached 27.04%, an increase of 5.81 percentage points year-on-year.

That is to say, among the three major main businesses, the only one achieving gross margin improvement is the "recycling business" that outsiders ignore most easily.

Looking further down, CATL has also accumulated considerable capital in the ship power battery field.

Already cumulatively delivered over 900 ship batteries. The first all-electric inland container ship exported from China delivered in the first half of 2026, also equipped with CATL's battery energy storage system. In July, also acquired a stake in Jiangsu Kaiyang Shipbuilding Company, increasing investment in the technical development of ocean-going ship battery systems.

In the commercial vehicle field, sodium-ion batteries have gone into mass production installation, the Tianxing series covers multiple sub-scenarios from logistics vehicles to heavy trucks. In the battery recycling field, holding company Bangpu Recycling has built the nation's largest directional recycling base, with an annual retired battery processing capacity of 270,000 tons, and nickel, cobalt, and manganese recovery rate is as high as 99.6%. The team also won two honors at the European Patent Office's "2026 European Inventor Award" this year, becoming the first Chinese team to win dual awards since the award's inception.

These businesses together constitute CATL's second growth curve beyond power batteries.

When lithium battery scrap volume grows at a speed of more than 20% annually, when the commercialization window for electric ships opens gradually, and when AI computing power data centers begin to propose new structural demands on energy supply, CATL has already extended its tentacles into these tracks. Company executives also clearly stated at the performance exchange meeting that AIDC presents a clear structural market opportunity. CATL will not just provide single product supply, but wants to provide more comprehensive solutions around new energy scenarios.

Therefore, from the financial report it can be seen that CATL's high-speed profit growth in the first half, a large part comes from storage, from recycling, from overseas, rather than simply "earning one more cent" from vehicle manufacturers.

Of course, a fact must be admitted here. The gross margin of the power battery business is indeed declining, price competition pressure in the domestic market is real. Moreover, CATL also has its shortcomings.

The "poaching talent and stealing technology" publicly condemned by Zeng Yuqun previously, lost orders in the Middle East market, additional costs brought by consumption tax policies, these are challenges on the table. It's just that these challenges have not covered up the longer-term growth curve.

Earn Money from "Foreigners", Also Earn Money for the Future

If diversification is CATL's first line of defense against industry risk, then globalization is the second moat it built. From this point of view, CATL is also half a step ahead of current auto companies. The overseas dividends it received are exactly the "big results" that current auto companies are striving hard to layout overseas business to obtain.

In the first half, CATL overseas revenue reached 87.1 billion yuan, gross margin 29.97%, nearly 9 percentage points higher than domestic business gross margin. Overseas market share 33.7%, Hungary, US, Indonesia three overseas factories successively put into production, Volkswagen, BMW, Toyota and other global mainstream car companies lie in the customer list.

Morgan Stanley gave a judgment in the latest report. Diesel vehicle electrification, storage super cycle, sodium-ion battery product cycle, will jointly support CATL to continue strong growth in 2027.

The key point is, CATL overseas business gross margin is significantly higher than domestic. This means, its bargaining power in the global market is actually stronger than in domestic. This is somewhat different from the common perception that "Made in China conquers the world with low prices".

CATL management gave the explanation at the exchange meeting as "Competing on value, not price". This sounds a bit official, but combining with gross margin data, it indeed has its confidence.

Zeng Yuqun summarized CATL's current strategic positioning into one sentence: From "New Energy Industrialization" to "Industrial New Energyization". The first half is what CATL did in the past ten years, making the concept of new energy into a real industry. The second half is what it plans to do in the future, using new energy to transform more traditional industries.

Ships, commercial vehicles, computing power data centers, mineral resources, these are all the landing points of "Industrial New Energyization". Zeng Yuqun himself judged, the future downstream industry boundaries may reach over a thousand times the current level.

And if this judgment holds, then the 40 billion buyback big move is easy to understand.

The company's current stock price is undervalued, this is the core logic of the buyback. On the day the financial report was released, CATL A-share closing price was 383.01 yuan, while the 52-week high was 468.75 yuan. Performance hit a new high, but the stock price fell nearly 20% in half a year. CITIC Securities gave a target price of 490 yuan, UBS 600 yuan, Macquarie HK stock target price 700 HKD.

Under this premise, the real money 40 billion buyback is an attitude given by management to the market.

More importantly, the implementation, all bought-back shares are used for cancellation, not kept for equity incentives, nor placed in treasury stock accounts. This means total share capital decreases by about 69.8 million shares, rights allocated to each shareholder will rise.

Of course, this confidence also needs some question marks. Lithium prices recently showed a rebound, Yichun Jianxiwo lithium mine resumption approval may bring cost fluctuations, consumption tax phased collection from 2% to 4% test on downstream bargaining power, are realities CATL must face next.

However, compared to challenges, this financial report indeed let us see a strong resilience and strategic vision shown by an industry leader. From this point of view, CATL is still the undoubted leader of the new energy sector, without a doubt.

Recently, the China Bus Information Network released export statistics data for new energy buses in the first half of 2026. BYD ranked first with an export volume of 2,233 units, with a market share of 22.15%, making it the only enterprise in the industry to break the 2,000-unit export threshold in the first half of the year. Amidst the global wave of green transportation transformation, BYD maintained steady growth and has won the annual new energy bus export champion for three consecutive years.

BYD electric buses have achieved a pattern of flourishing across the globe with simultaneous deep cultivation in multiple continents, high-end, and emerging markets. As of the end of June, in the high-standard European market, BYD has cumulatively delivered over 7,000 pure electric buses. Among them, over 2,700 buses are already in operation in the UK, accounting for 45% of the market share for zero-emission buses in the UK.

BYD Buses in the UK

In the Americas region, BYD continued to achieve breakthroughs at multiple points, maintaining a leading trend. In Colombia, BYD has cumulatively operated over 1,500 buses, ranking first in market share; in the Brazilian market, it has continued to deepen and expand since local production of electric bus chassis began in 2015. In June this year, BYD delivered 265 electric buses to São Paulo in a single shipment, setting a new record for the scale of single-shipment deliveries of heavy-duty electric buses in Brazil. Relying on localization strategy and technical accumulation, BYD has long stably held the top spot in the market share of imported electric bus brands in Brazil. In addition, the Middle East and African markets are advancing steadily, with orders being successively delivered in places like Morocco and the UAE.

In the Asia-Pacific region, business covers multiple countries including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, etc., becoming a mainstay model for local public transport electrification. Currently, BYD electric buses have orders exceeding 500 units in Japan, with a market share exceeding 50%, ranking first in the industry.

BYD Buses in Singapore

The core foundation for BYD electric buses to continuously lead comes from the full-stack self-developed core technology system. Relying on e-BUS Platform 3.0, Blade Battery technology, etc., it is adaptable to global complex operating conditions such as high temperatures, extreme cold, and mountains, showing outstanding advantages in safety performance and total lifecycle costs, successfully passing strict market certifications in Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea, etc., gaining recognition from global customers.

Making its debut at the Milan NME Exhibition

In the future, BYD will continue to provide leading technology, reliable quality, and excellent service, to support the green development of global public transportation.

Recently, China Bus Network released export statistics data for new energy buses in the first half of 2026. BYD ranked first with an export volume of 2,233 units, accounting for a market share of 22.15%. It was the only enterprise in the industry to break through 2,000 units in exports in the first half. Under the wave of global green transportation transformation, BYD maintains steady growth and has won the annual export champion of new energy buses for three consecutive years.

BYD electric buses have achieved a pattern of global blossoming with simultaneous deep cultivation in multiple continents, high-end markets, and emerging markets. As of the end of June, in the high-standard European market, BYD has cumulatively delivered over 7,000 pure electric buses. Among them, over 2,700 buses are in operation in the United Kingdom, accounting for 45% of the market share of zero-emission buses in the United Kingdom.

BYD Buses in the United Kingdom

In the Americas region, BYD continues to achieve breakthroughs at multiple points and maintains a leading posture. In Colombia, BYD has cumulatively operated over 1,500 buses, ranking first in market share; the Brazilian market has continuously deepened and expanded since initiating local production of electric bus chassis in 2015. In June this year, BYD delivered 265 electric buses to São Paulo at once, setting a new record for the single-batch delivery scale of heavy electric buses in Brazil. Relying on localization strategy and technical accumulation, BYD has long remained at the top of the market share of imported electric bus brands in Brazil. In addition, the Middle East and African markets are steadily advancing, and orders are being delivered successively in places such as Morocco and the UAE.

In the Asia-Pacific region, business covers multiple countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia, becoming the main model for local public transportation electrification. Currently, BYD electric buses have orders exceeding 500 units in Japan, with a market share exceeding 50%, ranking first in the industry.

BYD Buses in Singapore

The core foundation of BYD electric buses continuing to lead comes from a fully self-developed core technology system. Relying on technologies such as e-BUS Platform 3.0 and Blade Battery, it can adapt to global complex operating conditions such as high temperature, extreme cold, and mountainous areas. It has prominent advantages in safety performance and lifecycle costs, successfully passed strict market certifications such as Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, and gained recognition from global customers.

July 16, GAC held a 30 million user appreciation event at the Trumpchi factory. Achieving milestones has become quite common for automakers nowadays, but the signal released by this event carries far more weight than the number 30 million itself.

Many people's impression of GAC might still be stuck on it being a joint-venture honor student, but this lineup ceremony can be said to refresh cognition. The 29,999,995th to 29,999,999th vehicles off the line were exclusively new energy models: GAC Honda P7, GAC Toyota bZ7, Qijing GT7, Aion N60, Hyper S600, all new energy. The 30 millionth vehicle is a right-hand drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV, delivered to Thai star Tony Jaa. The answer is clear: GAC's next 10 million era will have new energy as the protagonist and the global market as the battlefield.

From the first vehicle off the line to exceeding 30 million, GAC took 29 years. But these 30 million were not produced by lying flat in a smooth environment; they were fought for during the most competitive cycle in the industry. Throughout the first half of this year, price wars in the auto market continued, joint ventures faced pressure across the board, new forces hovered around the break-even line, but GAC ran a steady rhythm with total sales of 773,100 units, increasing by 2.35% year-on-year; new energy sales increased by 68.8% year-on-year; overseas exports exceeded 120,000 units, with a year-on-year increase of 132%.

Joint venture fundamentals were not lost, autonomous new energy surged, and the overseas market gained momentum quickly. There were no all-or-nothing gambles, nor hesitant observation. In the impetuous auto market, this steady yet progressive approach has become scarce. Ultimately, 30 million is not just a sales number; it is the result of 29 years of trust from millions of users. In the current era of choice overload, continuously winning trust is itself hard power.

At the event, Feng Xingya said that quality is the bottom line GAC will never compromise on. The value of this sentence is estimated to be known only by friends familiar with GAC.

GAC's quality system originated from the foundation laid during the joint-venture era, integrating Honda TQM, Toyota Lean Production, and Lingnan Pragmatic Culture, forming a unique quality control logic. Others shout "Quality First" as a slogan, but GAC locks standards from R&D to manufacturing across the entire chain. Before every new car launches, it must pass extreme environment tests including Five Highs, One Mountain, and One Dust, complete two winters and one summer of on-site road tests, vehicle verification covers 12 major items and over 1,500 sub-items. The Aion Lighthouse Factory uses digital intelligent manufacturing to maximize production stability.

Safety level also does not play nonsense. The Star Spirit Safety System features eight systems with dual redundancy, having protected nearly 2 million users, avoiding over 6.28 million potential risks. Magazine batteries have been installed in 1.5 million vehicles, with safe driving exceeding 160 billion kilometers. More rarely, service backing comes first. The domestic brand pioneered the "Three Responsibilities" policy; the battery and intelligent driving issues that users worry most about are shouldered directly by the manufacturer. High user loyalty boils down to one sentence: what we worry about, it thought of in advance. What we care about, it provided a safety net for.

If quality is the basic skill, the most obvious change at GAC in the past two years is putting user thinking truly into practice.

In the fuel vehicle era, delivery was the endpoint of service; in the new energy second half, it is about full-cycle experience. GAC's approach is very pragmatic. Internally, hold regular all-open-mic user meetings, listen to opinions face-to-face, set up exclusive user insight departments, and ensure from the mechanism that every appeal gets a response; externally, accelerate channel submergence, planning to add 1,000 county-level stores this year, allowing the submerged market to also enjoy standardized services.

Response and refueling follow up simultaneously. The Super Butler responds in 5 seconds, completes in 2 hours, no need for repeated bickering. The 9 Verticals 10 Horizontals refueling network covers 213 cities, a station must be within one kilometer in the core urban area. Private ultra-fast charging piles exceed 20,000 units, practically relieving refueling anxiety. The simultaneously launched Renewal Appreciation Season covers six major brands, offering benefits across new purchase, trade-in, and upgrade purchase scenarios. Essentially, this is positive feedback to users — the core of business is always a two-way journey.

Many people think GAC is steady, but steady does not mean conservative. Cumulative R&D investment exceeds 62 billion yuan. Global R&D teams exceed 6,800 people. Technical investment has always been resolute.

Star Source Power covers three routes: range-extended, plug-in hybrid, and dual-motor, verified on test benches for 100,000 hours. All-solid-state batteries are building pilot production lines. Quark Electric Drive efficiency breaks 99%. Star Spirit Architecture connects six major vehicle systems, improving comprehensive performance by 40%. At the same time, GAC does not build cars in a closed room. Top enterprises like Huawei, CATL, and Tencent are all ecosystem partners, jointly building a smart mobility ecosystem.

Advancing from a car-making group to an ecosystem technology enterprise is GAC's clear goal. Looking back at the Chinese auto industry, GAC is a highly representative sample. From learning technology through joint ventures to controlling core technologies independently, then exporting new energy, this is exactly a miniature of the Chinese auto industry growing from large to strong.

In conclusion, in today's accelerating industry reshuffle, there are many brands that tripped over their feet with aggressive expansion, and many players lying flat守着 existing stock. Instead, GAC's approach of maintaining quality, producing technology, and opening up a broad vision makes people feel grounded. 29 years sharpening one sword, 30 million is just a new beginning. In the new energy second half, this steady card will still bring more surprises.

On July 16, GAC Group's 30 Million User Gratitude Celebration was held at the GAC Trumpchi Factory. Government and enterprise leaders, industry partners, domestic and international car owners, and media jointly witnessed this key milestone of the Group's 30 millionth vehicle coming off the production line. After 29 years of development, the delivery of 30 million vehicles is not only a testament to the trust of tens of millions of users but also a microcosm of the Chinese automotive industry shifting from scale expansion to high-quality development.

The event featured a connection to global bases on-site. Multiple new energy models from GAC Honda, Toyota, AION, Hyper, and Qijing sequentially completed production of the 29,999,995th to 29,999,999th units. The finale, the 30 millionth vehicle, was a Right-Hand Drive Trumpchi M8 PHEV. New car keys were delivered to a Thai owner on-site, intuitively showcasing GAC's dual achievements in new energy transformation and global expansion.

Market data confirms transformation results. In the first half of this year, GAC cumulative sales reached 773,100 units, up 2.35% year-on-year; new energy sales surged 68.8%, overseas exports reached 120,000 units, an increase of 132%, maintaining steady growth during the industry adjustment cycle.

Quality is the core bottom line of GAC's development. The group integrated the mature management system of Japanese brands to create an exclusive quality management model. New cars undergo unified testing in extreme environments of "Five Highs, One Mountain, One Dust" and two winters and one summer long-cycle tests. Relying on AION's global new energy lighthouse factory, digital quality control is achieved. In terms of safety, the StarGuard protection system and Cassette Battery are applied, cumulatively avoiding millions of driving risks. The industry's first "Three Responsibilities" policy proactively covers issues related to batteries and intelligent driving, eliminating user concerns about vehicle usage.

According to reports, GAC regularly carries out face-to-face communication with users, adhering to a user-centric orientation and building a full closed-loop complaint handling mechanism. Channels continue to deepen, adding 1,000 county-level stores this year and launching a 5-second response ultra-fast butler service. A "9 Verticals, 10 Horizontals" charging network covering the country has been built, with over 20,000 self-operated super-charging piles, perfecting supporting facilities for new energy vehicles. On-site, the full-brand renewal gratitude season was simultaneously launched, with six passenger car brands offering multiple return policies for purchasing and trading in.

With 30 million as a new starting point, GAC continues to increase investment in independent research and innovation, with cumulative R&D investment exceeding 62 billion yuan and an R&D team of over 6,800 people. The Xingyuan Power series power solutions, Quark efficient electric drive, all-solid-state battery pilot line, and evolved StarGuard electronic architecture are landing successively. They are jointly building an AI intelligent ecosystem with companies such as Huawei and CATL, continuously tackling industry pain points such as fast charging and low-temperature range.

In the future, GAC will adhere to the four main lines of Quality, User, Technology, and Globalization, accelerate the transition to an ecosystem-based tech enterprise, continuously output green intelligent products, and expand the global market.

Editor's Summary: Whole vehicle production and sales breakthrough 30 million is a concentrated embodiment of nearly 30 years of GAC's manufacturing, channel, and technology accumulation. At the same time, the enterprise did not only focus on product iteration. From extreme condition testing and battery safety backing, to county-level channels, national charging networks, and ultra-fast user services, a complete user guarantee system is formed. It is worthy of learning and reference by other car companies.

Editor's Note: Geely Group's performance in the first half of the year can be called bright, but in the automotive market where variables are ever-present, its challenges for the second half of the year remain.

On July 15th, Geely Holding Group released the mid-year sales performance report: Total vehicle sales for the group from January to June reached 1.93 million units, setting a new high for the same period in history; among them, new energy vehicle sales reached 1.1 million units, a year-on-year increase of 10%, with the new energy penetration rate climbing to 56.9%. This means that for every 100 cars sold by Geely Holding Group in the first half of the year, nearly 57 were new energy vehicles, and the group as a whole has entered the harvest period of electrification scale.

As the core listed entity under Geely Holdings, Geely Auto's sales reached 1.43 million units in the first half of the year, with new energy sales (including Geely, Lynk & Co, Zeekr) at 799,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 10%, and a new energy penetration rate of 56%. Sales data from the group to the core brand outline a traditional Chinese automaker that started with fuel vehicles, and in the background of intensifying industry stock competition, how to complete a structural transformation through a multi-brand matrix and global layout.

Multi-brand matrix synergy, new energy becomes the main axis of growth

Geely's ability to refresh records in the first half of the year was not pulled by a single brand, but the result of synergy between the three major brands Geely, Lynk & Co, and Zeekr in different sub-segments.

The Geely brand, which targets the mainstream home market, achieved cumulative sales of 1,100,373 units in the first half, of which the China Star series sold 580,580 units, continuing to firmly rank among the top sales of domestic brand fuel vehicles, playing the role of a "ballast" for the basic market. What truly drives the volume increase in new energy is Geely Galaxy—cumulative deliveries in the first half reached 519,793 units, with single-month sales in June at 108,206 units, a year-on-year increase of 20% and a month-on-month increase of 32%. The Star Wish under the Galaxy brand broke 50,000 units in a single month, with cumulative sales since launch exceeding 750,000 units, becoming the core product in Geely's new energy volume-selling camp.

Lynk & Co, positioned in the mid-to-high-end hybrid market, achieved cumulative sales of 144,215 units in the first half, with new energy vehicle sales at 93,597 units, and the proportion of new energy products reaching 65%, stabilizing the mid-to-high-end hybrid sub-market by relying on the EM-P hybrid family promoted by the simultaneous launch of three car models. Zeekr continued its strong performance on the high-end luxury track, delivering 178,370 units in the first half, a significant year-on-year increase of 97%; single-month deliveries in June were 35,169 units, a year-on-year increase of 111%, achieving consecutive five-month year-on-year and month-on-month double growth, with global cumulative deliveries officially breaking through 820,000 units.

From the perspective of the group as a whole, June single-month Geely Auto new energy sales reached 161,449 units, a year-on-year increase of 32% and a month-on-month increase of 21%, with new energy sales proportion of the group's total sales exceeding 67%—equivalent to nearly 7 out of every 10 Geely new cars sold being new energy vehicles. This structural change marks that Geely's "oil and electricity simultaneous promotion" transformation rhythm has entered a new stage dominated by new energy.

It is worth noting that Geely's new energy transformation is not at the expense of abandoning fuel vehicles. The China Star series still maintains strong competitiveness in the fuel vehicle market, and this "fuel ballast, new energy volume" dual-track strategy enabled Geely to hold its basic market share in the domestic auto market in the first half. Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that in the ranking of narrow passenger vehicle manufacturer retail sales from January to June, Geely ranked first with 1.021 million units and an 11.7% share, being the only domestic brand to break the million-unit mark in the first half.

Overseas business leaps, globalization enters harvest period

If new energy penetration rate is the most eye-catching internal change in Geely's first half, then the explosion of export business is its most prominent external highlight.

Data shows that Geely Auto's first-half overseas export sales reached 474,228 units, a year-on-year increase of 158%—this number has already exceeded Geely's total export volume for the full year of 2025. June single-month overseas export sales broke the 100,000 unit threshold for the first time, reaching 102,874 units, with a year-on-year increase of 157% and a month-on-month increase of 21%, achieving consecutive six-month year-on-year and month-on-month double growth.

A more critical change lies in the export structure. In the first half, Geely's new energy product export sales were 277,189 units, surging 585% year-on-year, accounting for 58% of the total export volume. This means Geely's main overseas products have completed the switch from traditional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles, with new energy products gradually becoming the core driving force for overseas market growth.

Geely Holding Group's overall global layout also landed at multiple points in the first half: Geely signed Swiss dealers to strengthen the European market, Lynk & Co 900 launched in Vietnam and Qatar, Geely Xingyuan EX2 began local production in Brazil, Binyue Cool launched in South Africa; Zeekr topped the Malaysia luxury pure electric sales list, 007 GT has launched in 16 European countries, flagship model Zeekr 9X plans to go to the Middle East in Q3, and will subsequently expand into US/Europe and Central Asian markets.

Overseas high-end brands also performed steadily. Volvo Cars first-half global sales were 325,000 units, with new energy sales at 161,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, with new energy penetration rate reaching 50%, and pure electric vehicle deliveries growing for 9 consecutive months. Polestar first-half sales were 30,400 units, achieving sales breakthroughs in markets such as the UK, Germany, and South Korea, setting a new high for the brand at the same period in history. In the Southeast Asia and commercial vehicle sector, Proton first-half sales were 100,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 39.1%, achieving the best half-year performance since 2011; Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicles first-half sales were 88,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 41.3%, with overseas export sales ranking at the forefront of the new energy commercial vehicle industry.

Geely Group's performance in the first half of the year can be called bright, but in the automotive market where variables are ever-present, its challenges for the second half of the year remain. Intensifying domestic car market stock competition and unrelenting price war pressure, Geely brand and Lynk & Co brand first-half cumulative sales declined year-on-year by 5% and 6% respectively, indicating that the fuel vehicle basic market still faces contraction pressure; and in the overseas market, geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, and the difficulty of localization operations will also rise synchronously with the expansion of export scale. Whether Geely can continue its growth momentum in the second half depends on the volume pace of Galaxy and Zeekr, the development progress of Middle East and European markets, and the balancing ability of resource allocation between fuel vehicles and new energy.

On July 8, the 100,000th Avatr 07 vehicle rolled off the production line at Chongqing Digital Intelligence Factory. This milestone model is the right-hand drive overseas version, marking the main model's leap from a domestic blockbuster to a global product. With a delivery scale of 100,000 units, simultaneous overseas layout, and dual-model matrix implementation, this reflects three clear industrialization upgrade paths for China's high-end new energy vehicle industry—manufacturing, technology, and globalization—providing a replicable development model for the industry.

From the dimension of manufacturing industrialization, the core confidence behind the 100,000 units comes from the full-domain intelligent factory system. Currently, the domestic new energy market has entered a stage of stock competition, where price wars compress profits, making stable, low-cost, and high-quality mass production capabilities the bottom line for brand survival. The Chongqing Digital Intelligence Factory supporting Avatr 07 production is the world's first full-domain 5G+AI flexible whole vehicle manufacturing base, integrating over 40 cutting-edge technologies such as digital twins, full-process automated welding, and digital quality control. Annual production capacity can stably support the synchronous production of multiple models, with a supporting capability of up to 200 units per year, achieving a balance between personalized customization and mass production.

This intelligent manufacturing system co-built by Changan, Huawei, and China Unicom solves the challenge of mass production consistency for high-end models. In the past, high-end new energy vehicles commonly faced the pain points of low-volume, hard-to-mass-produce customization. Avatr connects the R&D, production, and quality control full-link through a three-party collaborative supply chain, rapidly transforming frontier laboratory technologies into standardized products. The stable delivery of 100,000 units proves that domestic high-end new energy has shaken off the label of "niche concept cars", completed industrialization landing, and moved away from the fragile model relying on a single blockbuster for short-term volume.

Secondly, technological collaborative industrialization is the core competitiveness of Avatr 07 to secure its position in the 200,000-300,000 RMB high-end track. Unlike the single automaker self-research model, Avatr integrates core resources from the three-party industry chain, forming a complete technical closed loop: Huawei provides Kunqun ADS 4 intelligent driving and HarmonyOS Cockpit, CATL outputs Shenxing Supercharging battery, Changan is responsible for the whole vehicle chassis and whole vehicle manufacturing. The six major core technologies are fully independently controllable, with no risk of core components being externally choked off.

In the current era of homogeneous industry configurations, a complete industry chain collaborative system builds differentiated barriers. The model has successively won the USA IDA and German iF International Design Awards; its original appearance design possesses global aesthetic adaptability; 90-second fast recharging, full-scenario advanced intelligent driving, and extended-range pure electric dual powertrain solutions cater to both domestic commuting and overseas diverse road condition needs. This integrated collaborative model of whole vehicle, intelligence, and battery/electric/powertrain represents a new division of labor for China's new energy industry: automakers coordinate and integrate, tech companies output intelligent software and hardware, battery enterprises provide energy solutions. The industry chain functions in its respective role with deep binding, marking a significant sign of industry maturity.

Third, global industrialization layout opens up new growth space for the industry, and the right-hand drive milestone model releases a clear industry signal. The domestic market volume has peaked, going overseas has become a mandatory question for all new energy automakers, while industrial overseas expansion has long moved away from simple vehicle exports, turning to integrated layout of products, capacity, and channels. The 100,000th vehicle rolled off the line this time is the right-hand drive model, specifically adapting to massive right-hand drive markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth. It is not simply changing the steering wheel layout, but achieving full-dimension localization adaptation from chassis calibration, infotainment interaction, to safety regulations.

Currently, Avatr products have landed in markets such as Singapore, Thailand, UAE, etc., with channels covering 43 countries. Planned to enter Europe in 2026, covering over 110 countries by 2030. Compared to the scattered exports of most automakers, Avatr completed the synchronous R&D and mass production of right-hand drive models in advance, directly connecting domestic and overseas dual-market supply at the manufacturing end. Relying on mature domestic production capacity bases to radiate globally, avoiding high investments in building factories overseas, using local super factories as global production capacity pivots. This is a more cost-effective industrialization overseas route.

At the same time, Avatr 07L has simultaneously started pre-sale. 07 and 07L form a dual-car matrix, perfecting the coverage of segmented markets, completing the industrial iteration from a single blockbuster to a product matrix. The 100,000 units sales of a single model is just the starting point. Dual-model parallelism can dilute R&D, production, and supply chain costs, further amplifying scale advantages, and hedging against market cycle fluctuations.

Against the backdrop of the overall transformation of the automotive industry, the rolling off of the line of 100,000 Avatr 07 right-hand drive whole vehicles is not just a brand milestone, but also a microcosm of the maturity of the domestic new energy industry. Intelligent manufacturing builds a solid mass production base, the whole industry chain collaboration creates technical barriers, and the simultaneous layout of domestic and overseas dual markets expands the growth ceiling. The three industrialization paths support each other, allowing Chinese high-end electric vehicles to break free from low-price involution and truly possess the strength to compete globally with international luxury brands. In the future, as domestic automakers continuously deepen industry chain integration and perfect global product layout, the new energy vehicle industry will complete the qualitative change from scale leadership to all-around leadership in technology, manufacturing, and brand.

July 8, BYD's 17 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the line at the Xi'an factory. From 16 million to 17 million, it took less than 3 months. Average daily production exceeds 12,000 units.

17 million units, what concept is this? Over a century of global automotive history, no new energy vehicle manufacturer has ever reached this scale. More crucially, from the first million taking 13 years to now adding another million in just over 80 days—this acceleration curve is truly staggering. This is not just a leap in production and sales data, but also creates a new benchmark for the development of the global new energy industry.

Many think BYD just rode the wave of new energy policy benefits. But can policy benefits explain the production ramp-up of a million units in three months? Can it explain the overseas growth rate of 789,000 units in half a year, up 68% year-on-year? Can it explain a Chinese carmaker beginning to export technical standards to the globe?

Obviously not.

What truly supports this number of 17 million units are three core capabilities that are hard for others to replicate.

First: Full-stack independent research, from "being bottlenecked" to "holding in hand"

BYD's technology route has never been single-point breakthroughs, but rather full-stack independent research.

In March 2026, the second-generation Blade Battery and Flash Charging technology were released. Fully charged in 5 minutes at room temperature, 9 minutes full, plus only 3 minutes at minus 30 degrees — overcoming the "slow charging" and "cold weather charging difficulty" two major global problems in one go.

In May, China's first 4nm process smart driving chip "Xuanji A3" mass-produced, three-chip collaborative computing power exceeds 2,100 TOPS. Same month, BYD took the lead in promising to guarantee city pilot safety for 1 year, all series available with Sky's Eye B Laser version.

From battery, motor, electronic control to chips, smart driving, chassis, BYD achieved full-link independent controllability from upstream lithium mine resources to downstream complete vehicles. Core link independent R&D and production rate exceeds 90%.

Others build cars by assembling supply chains, BYD builds cars from mine to complete vehicle one-stop. Once this system runs smoothly, it is a moat others cannot copy, and also the bottom-line support for BYD pushing the new energy industry to a new height.

Good technology is just a premise. What makes BYD truly amazing is that — these core technologies are not used for "showing off skills". Sky's Eye standard equipment across series, city pilot and smart parking "safety double guarantee", making good technology accessible to everyone. The 17 million units data proves that domestic suppliers already possess global competitiveness in automotive-grade certification, yield control, and cost optimization.

Technology is not used for enshrinement, but for popularization. This is what defining standards should look like.

Second: Vertical integration, from "subject to others" to "self-sufficient"

BYD is not only a complete vehicle manufacturer, but also a vertical integrated supply chain giant. Its subsidiaries such as FinDreams Battery, FinDreams Power, BYD Semiconductor, etc. constitute a complete domestic Tier1 camp.

What is the direct result brought by this model? Core component costs are more than 33% lower than the industry average.

In the early days of global chip shortage and raw material price increase cycles, peers reduced production and stopped work, BYD production capacity was almost unimpacted. When others were bottlenecked by supply chains, BYD quietly built cars. When others were still grabbing chips, BYD had already designed its own chips.

17 million units rolled off the line is not only a victory for the complete vehicle factory, but also a production volume landmark for the domestic supply chain. From second-generation Blade Battery to Sky's Eye smart driving, autonomous controllability and mass production delivery capability of core components have become the industry moat. This fully industry chain autonomous controllability system is itself a new height that the new energy industry can reach.

This model allows cutting-edge technology to quickly trickle down to all series models, no need for high-end cars to exclusively occupy core configurations. Seal 08 sells from 196,900 starting, but equipped with DiSus-A, rear-wheel steering, 905km range, flash charging, smart driving double guarantee — 200,000 RMB car, million-level configuration.

This is not a price war, this is a system war.

Third: Globalization, from "product going overseas" to "standards going overseas"

In the first half of 2026, BYD sold 789,000 units overseas, up 68% year-on-year, overseas sales proportion exceeds 43%. June single month exports 175,300 units, creating a new historic high.

But more noteworthy than sales volume is the layout. Thailand, Brazil factories already mass-produced, Hungary, Indonesia factories to start production in 2026. From Southeast Asia to South America to Europe, a localized manufacturing system covering Asia, Europe, and Africa is taking shape.

More crucially — BYD is simultaneously exporting charging standards. Scale implementation of Flash Charging stations overseas at the end of 2026, from "Flash Charge China" to "Flash Charge Planet". Domestic has already built 7,018 Flash Charging stations, covering 325 cities, end of year target 20,000 stations.

Before it was Chinese cars chasing others' standards. Now it is others considering whether to connect to China's charging standards. This role shift is the most worthy of discussion behind 17 million units.

Final Thoughts

Xi'an is the place where BYD's car building dream started. 2003 first car rolled off the line, 2008 global first plug-in hybrid born, to today 17 millionth new energy vehicle rolls out from here.

17 million units is not just cold production capacity numbers, but also a landmark node for Chinese carmakers turning from policy followers to technology definers. From the depth of technology self-research, to the breadth of vertical integration, to the speed of global layout, BYD used a complete system capability to turn 17 million units from numbers into confidence, pushing the Chinese new energy industry to an unprecedented new height.

This is not only a milestone in production and sales volume, but also a new starting point for a Chinese carmaker to export standards and rules to the globe.

#BYD17MillionthNewEnergyVehicleRolledOffLine#

In the first half of 2026, cumulative retail of passenger cars in China's automotive market reached approximately 8.75 million units, a year-on-year decline of about 20%; meanwhile, new energy penetration rate broke 63% in May to set a historical high, and climbed further to about 63.6% in June.

The overall market downturn and structural upgrade running in parallel can be said to be the theme of this half-year; against this backdrop, true new energy top players are beginning to surface.

BYD, with 1.7774 million units in sales, continues to top the sales list; Geely Auto follows closely, with cumulative sales of 1.423 million units in the first half of the year, setting a new historical high for the same period, with the two companies combined taking about 38.7% of the new energy market share in China. More than one-third of new energy vehicles are either made by BYD or Geely.

At this point, the "Two Supers and Many Strong Powers" new energy market structure has been formed, and the top two automakers are widening the gap with the followers. Many automakers have fought in the new energy market for so many years; the elimination round is approaching its end, the market share of domestic brands has exceeded 73%, and the "Hegemony War" of China's new energy market has basically been locked between these two companies.

BYD and Geely are seizing territory with different paths respectively; one is a strong hand at integrating the industry chain, and the other is a skilled hand at organizing the system. In this "Hegemony Battle", will it ultimately end with two strong heroes standing together, or will someone seize power at once?

# BYD and Geely, Leaving Followers Far Behind? #

Stretching the timeline to 2025, the basic outline of China's new energy vehicle market structure was already apparent.

BYD, with 4,602,436 units of new energy vehicle sales for the full year of 2025, a year-on-year growth of 7.73%, among which pure electric vehicle sales were 2.2567 million units, surpassing Tesla for the first time to become the annual sales champion of pure electric vehicles globally. The domestic new energy vehicle market share exceeded 35%, and the full-year sales of 2025 entered the global automotive group sales top five for the first time.

Geely, with 3.0246 million units in sales for the full year of 2025, breaking 3 million units for the first time, up 39% year-on-year. New energy sales exceeded 1.68 million units, up 90% year-on-year. Full-year revenue was 345.2 billion yuan, up 25% year-on-year. Core net attributable profit was 14.41 billion yuan, up 36% year-on-year.

Entering the first half of 2026, BYD reached 1.7774 million units (down 15.9% year-on-year), Geely 1.423 million units (up about 1% year-on-year). Still the top two in domestic sales. From the market share perspective, the China new energy passenger car market in the first half of 2026 was about 5.5 million units. BYD's share was about 32.3%, Geely's share was about 14.5%.

One could say that in China's new energy market, these two brands took nearly half of the market. You should know that six years ago, Geely's new energy proportion was in single digits, and BYD was far from forming the scale it has today. At this point, the pattern of China's new energy market has basically been set, with multi-brand chaos evolving into "Two Giants and Multiple Strong Contenders".

# Scale and System: Which is the Key to Seizing Market Hegemony? #

Why is it BYD and Geely that can form dominance in China's many new energy brand markets with so many cars, plus policy support?

Let's look at BYD first. Currently, its biggest moat is its massive scale. This scale not only protects itself but also blocks the invasion of competitors. So where does this scale come from?

At the beginning of the development of China's new energy market, it could be said to be a complete blue ocean. At that time, even large global automotive groups dared not easily get involved. After all, this is a fundamental energy transition. Entering this market means that the profit model, production and manufacturing system, and product definition model of the previous fuel car era must be completely started from scratch. Not only must time costs be paid, but an economic account must also be calculated.

But in China, there is an undeniable point, which is the support of policy direction. BYD is able to become the current hegemon of the new energy industry because it also bet on the direction of policy. Under the decision to go ALL IN on new energy, it successfully became the first Chinese automaker to conquer the new energy market, thereby helping itself quickly take a large share of the market.

On top of this, through the path of vertical integration, from lithium mining to battery manufacturing, from chip design to vehicle production, BYD itself has built a complete industry chain closed loop.

Its advantage lies in that even if the industry's overall profit margin is only 3.2% now, BYD can still press down costs by self-producing batteries, self-producing chips, and self-producing electronic controls. In 2025, why BYD was able to reach a 35% market share in the domestic market, it relied on "others cutting prices, and I can still make money".

So at this time, this first-mover advantage combined with cost control can give it the initiative in market competition, not being led by the nose by other opponents, but making itself the person who moves first. When grasping the initiative, it will be more at ease in the market, thereby quickly forming scale expansion.

But historical experience shows that when scale expansion reaches a certain extent, it will naturally slow down or even decline. Even as strong as BYD has not escaped this law. In the first half of this year, its sales saw a decline, and the market sales of main models such as Song PLUS, Qin PLUS, and Seagull saw a year-on-year decline.

When the price war dividend has fully receded, simple price strategies are difficult to form differentiation barriers. Wang Chuanfu admitted at the shareholders' meeting: Current technology leadership is not as good as in previous years, the market wow factor of technological results has decreased, and industry homogenization characteristics are becoming increasingly obvious.

For this, in June 2026, BYD launched the largest scale organizational reform of its vehicle business since its inception, reorganizing the four brands Dynasty, Ocean, Denza, and Fang Cheng Bao into independent operating units, implementing independent accounting and bearing their own profit and loss. The R&D system was reconstructed into "Group Technology Middle Platform + Brand Research Institute". The purpose is very clear: after achieving expansion, gradually shifting from "scale driven" to "profit and efficiency driven".

Let's look at Geely. Its play is completely different from BYD. It does not build a wall with one industry chain, but uses a set of system structure to deploy.

The foundation of such a system is built under Li Shufu's "One Geely" strategy. Closing redundant entities, integrating R&D, procurement, and intelligent resources, the Qianli Haohan Intelligent Driving System is reused across brands. This unified technology base, relying on brands to form product differentiation, is forming the late-mover advantage of traditional large factories against rapid iteration and price wars.

Specifically, Geely Galaxy undertakes the task of high-volume market mainstream new energy vehicles, with cumulative sales of 519,793 units in the first half of the year; the China Star Series stabilizes the fuel car base, with cumulative sales of 580,580 units in the first half of the year; Zeekr raises brand premium with an average price of 350,000 yuan, delivering 178,300 units in the first half of the year, up 97% year-on-year; Lynk & Co covers both high-end new energy and overseas expansion.

This division of labor where each fulfills its duty allows Geely to maintain the healthiness of its own brand development in the background of the increasingly fierce price war in China. Reflected in the data is that the core net profit per vehicle in the first quarter reached 6,429 yuan, up 30% year-on-year, with the gross margin rising to 17.5%. In the context of the industry generally declining by over 20%, this performance has a certain persuasiveness.

And Geely's product layout is quite targeted. It seized the most high-volume market from 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, relying on the dense coverage of products and the full coverage of power types. This point has a strong effect on improving consumer awareness. Among them, Geely Star Wish one car contributed 34.6% of group sales.

At the same time, the overseas market is becoming Geely's second growth curve. Exports in the first half of the year were 474,200 units, up 158% year-on-year, already exceeding the total export volume of the whole year of 2025; new energy product exports were 277,200 units, up 585% year-on-year. Exports in June broke 100,000 units for the first time. Currently, Geely has raised export targets to 1 million units twice consecutively.

Combining the above content, we can see that BYD's scale gives it enough exposure in the market, and this scale effect can also bring a certain positive impact to the brand. Meanwhile, facing the current bottleneck of scale development to a certain extent, BYD is also starting to delegate authority to consider efficiency issues, seeking to allow each sub-brand to respond to the market more flexibly.

Under the background of Geely's "One Geely" strategy, scattered resources have been concentrated again. It carries out targeted layout of different markets according to the different positioning of its sub-brands. While reducing internal friction, it is also easier and more accurate for consumer groups to see Geely products in the corresponding market, thereby driving sales growth.

Although these two paths are different, the purpose is one, which is to improve its own competitiveness in the existing market. The Chinese automotive market has long entered a saturation status. So at this time, being able to live better here relies on scale and system capabilities. This point, through the examples of BYD and Geely, can verify the correctness of this development model. Although they are in a competitive relationship in the market, their development models start from different paths and end at the same destination.

Except for the domestic market, the overseas market is becoming a factor that determines the pattern of the two strong ones. Interestingly, BYD and Geely, the sales champions who took different routes in the domestic market, still have two different paths in their overseas layout.

BYD took the heavy asset wholly-owned route, building its own factories in Brazil, Thailand, Hungary, etc., intending to maintain technical and management autonomy. The Thailand factory is the only overseas full-process factory currently in production. The Hungary factory will be put into production in Q2 2026. "Local production + domestic exports" jointly improve delivery flexibility.

Geely took the light asset synergy route, cutting into local manufacturing and channels by leveraging existing cooperation networks such as Volvo, Proton, Renault, etc. Acquiring Ford's Valencia plant production line in Spain, signing Swiss distributor Emil Frey. This model avoids the heavy asset burden of large-scale self-built factories.

The two routes have pros and cons. BYD's wholly-owned model can守住 technical sovereignty, but the capital pressure is huge and implementation is slow; Geely's synergy model can quickly pave the way, but it has a high dependence on cooperation partners and weak brand control. From the data in the first half of 2026, Geely's export growth (157%) was higher than BYD's (70%), but BYD's overseas sales absolute value (789,400 units) still leads Geely (474,200 units).

Subsequently, the performance of these two giants in the overseas market may become a key factor affecting their overall brand development. Under the background of the EU IAA Act locking foreign shareholding at 49%, Geely's joint venture synergy model may face lower policy compliance costs, while BYD's wholly-owned route may face greater institutional barriers.

# Top Structure Established: Can Followers Replicate the Success Path? #

When the market has a successful template, naturally others are like copying. So can BYD and Geely's development model be replicated?

BYD's vertical integration is built on more than twenty years of deep cultivation in the industry. Starting from batteries to vehicle manufacturing, this is a road that cannot be done quickly. CATL is a battery giant, but it doesn't make cars; Nio and Li Auto are new car-making forces, but they don't produce batteries. To keep the whole industry chain in hand, it requires time, capital, and strategic resolve. All three are indispensable.

Geely's systematic capability is built on the long-term accumulation of multi-brand acquisition and integration. Volvo, Proton, Lotus, Polestar, etc., these brands were not bought overnight; it is the result of a ten-plus-year continuous layout. Without this "brand pool", the "One Geely" strategy loses the foundation of synergy. New entrants only have one or two brands, and traditional automakers mostly have only one main brand. None have the conditions for Geely's "multi-brand matrix synergy".

So, saying it is that these two roads, BYD and Geely can walk, does not mean others can too. So is there another way to squeeze into the camp of China's new energy "Strong Ones"? Let's see how subsequent followers respond.

Currently, relying on brand premium and single-model efficiency are the general tactics of most market followers. Among them, Tesla and Xiaomi are considered two representatives.

From the brand statistical scope, the new energy brands ranked behind BYD and Geely are Tesla. In the first half of 2026, Tesla's China domestic market retail sales were approximately 325,000 units. If referring to the total delivery volume of the Shanghai Gigafactory (including exports) in the first half of the year, it was 468,000 units.

But it is worth noting that Tesla's product portfolio has not been updated for a long time. Two flagship models, Model S and Model X, were discontinued in the first half of this year. The main models currently on sale are Model 3 and Model Y. So what is the reason boosting its sales? The answer is very simple, it is its brand influence.

If switching to other brands, or saying the majority of domestic brands, having only two models in the market is obviously not enough competitiveness. Otherwise, they would not deploy numerous models in the domestic market. You should know that in the first half of this year alone, there were over 500 new and upgraded models entering the Chinese automotive market. The main purpose is to exchange consumer attention and sales through short time and high frequency exposure.

But Tesla's advantage lies in its brand influence. One is entry early, counting as the absolute pioneer of the electric market, and having its own energy replenishment system. Plus, the personal charm of the brand founder adds to it. Many consumers, if not considering price and other factors, will take it as one of the primary or main choices.

Speaking of Xiaomi, this can actually be counted as a sample of high efficiency for a single model. In the first half of 2026, Xiaomi Auto cumulative deliveries exceeded 180,000 units, basically reaching a monthly average of 30,000. It relied on one car in its first year, and now it only has two models on sale.

If you put it together with BYD, you can see what level its per-vehicle efficiency reaches. Two cars with 180,000 sales, compared to 1.196 million for 66 models, its per-vehicle average sales are far higher than most other brands on the market, basically reaching more than 3 times the industry average.

Why are these two paths worth being discussed separately? The cases of Tesla and Xiaomi answer the question "Can BYD and Geely's paths be replicated".

BYD's scale requires twenty years of industry chain deep cultivation; Geely's system requires ten-plus years of brand acquisition integration. These two things, other brands can almost not replicate. So if other brands want to gain presence in the market, they must have other differentiation advantages, relying on brands, or relying on their own ecosystems, or starting from other ways.

And there is one more point, relative to scale and system which are barriers that won't be easily broken, other methods may all have a certain uncertainty.

For example, Tesla's brand influence. Tesla's domestic retail sales in the first quarter of 2026 declined by 16.2% year-on-year. In January, Model Y even fell to 20th place in the retail ranking. Its pure electric retail market share in April of this year was only 3.06%. All of this explains one issue, that is, brand influence can be diluted by competitors.

Then there is Xiaomi's per-vehicle efficiency. If market acceptance of products is acceptable, then per-vehicle extreme efficiency is an advantage. If per-vehicle appeal in the market declines, then it is a serious blow to the brand, and it may even appear that one car decides life or death.

So, the "Hegemony" established by BYD and Geely is the effect of the superposition of factors such as time. In the short term, it is like ascending to heaven to replicate this brand development path. So the endgame of China's new energy market later will not be a "BYD + Geely" duopoly, but the top structure they are in has solidified. This barrier will not be easily broken by latecomers. On the contrary, these giants may "absorb" small and medium brands that are hard to sustain in the market.

# One Dominant Leader or Two Tigers Coexisting? #

As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. So will this point be reflected in the "Hegemony" contest between BYD and Geely?

In the short term, BYD appeared with teething pains after scale expansion. Domestic sales declined, and organizational reform just started, but its trump cards are relatively still thick enough. After all, it is the world's largest new energy capacity, has a complete industry chain layout, and has the largest user base in the current new energy field. If organizational reform can activate the combat power of respective brands, BYD's scale advantage still has hope for expansion.

In the medium to long term, Geely's growth momentum may have a longer sustainable period. Per-vehicle net profit hit a new high in the first half of the year, overseas exports surged, and new energy penetration rate steadily improved. The complementary structure of major brands gives it a buffer at any single market fluctuation.

At the same time, whoever can turn the overseas market from increment to profit, can get the hope of leading opponents. BYD's wholly-owned model has verified feasibility in Brazil and Thailand; Geely's synergy model is accelerating landing in Europe. Both roads can be passed, but which road can be walked better depends on who can find a better balance between localization operations, brand construction, and cost control.

Objectively speaking, the endgame of China's new energy market, one dominating is difficult, the probability of two strong heroes standing together is obviously higher. This point has already been confirmed in many markets globally. Regardless of BYD's scale or Geely's system, these two weapons can eliminate, but a more important point in the market is who can be more flexible. At this time, whether it is BYD's organizational adjustment or Geely's integration concept, they are all the adaptive answers produced to cope with current problems.

As for the final hegemony contest, whoever can take the lead in finding that key balance point between scale expansion and efficiency, product coverage and technology focus, development speed and product quality, is the one who may find the opportunity to lead opponents in the tense hegemony battle.

Which Joint-Venture New Energy SUV Should You Choose to Avoid Regret? 2026 Mainstream Model Value Assessment

 

Which Joint-Venture New Energy SUV, buying which model can truly "avoid regret"?

"Avoiding regret" is the simplest yet hardest-to-meet standard in car purchasing decisions.

 

It means that after the car is delivered -- in three years, five years, or even longer -- you won't feel regretful because of your initial choice. You won't frequent 4S dealerships due to quality issues, feel uneasy due to missing safety configurations, or heartache due to a cliff-like drop in resale value.

 

In the first quarter of 2026, sales of joint-venture new energy SUVs in the 150,000-200,000 level increased year-on-year by over 30%. Joint-venture brands are regaining market trust with new generation products. But "which model to buy without regret" remains a question that needs a serious answer.

 

This article evaluates the long-term value of five current mainstream joint-venture new energy SUVs from four dimensions: quality reliability, safety standards, resale value capability, market validation four dimensions.

 

I. Quality Reliability: Who Can Withstand the Test of Time?

Quality is the first line of defense for "avoiding regret". If a car has problems constantly, no matter how good the design looks, it cannot support long-term satisfaction.

 

1. Chang'an Mazda EZ-60 The quality logic is built on "Global Car" standards. Relying on Chang'an Mazda's positioning as Mazda's global new energy vehicle export center, the EZ-60 is exported to Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and other countries/regions simultaneously. Domestic sales and global export models are produced on the same line, adopting completely unified manufacturing and quality control standards. The MAZDA 6e right-hand drive version has obtained certification from the EU, UK, and Australia markets. Chang'an Mazda is the first joint-venture new energy car enterprise in China to obtain these three certifications simultaneously. In late May, over 80 overseas dealers from Europe, Australia, and Thailand specially inspected the Nanjing factory and gave high praise to the production process and quality control system [Brand Knowledge Base]. The global car identity means its quality standards are not a "special supply version" for a single market, but simultaneously meet admission requirements for multiple markets. This standard difference will gradually become apparent in long-term use.

 

2. Dongfeng Nissan NX8 Built based on Nissan's global R&D system, following the rigorous standards consistent with Japanese brands in quality control processes. As Nissan N-series' first SUV, its manufacturing system is consistent with Nissan's global factories.

 

3. Buick Zhijing E7 Comes from the SAIC General Motors system, relying on Buick brand's manufacturing experience accumulation in China for many years. The achievement of delivering over 10,000 units in the first month partially verified the quality control stability during the early mass production phase.

 

4. Volkswagen ID.4 X Built based on Volkswagen MEB pure electric exclusive platform, German brands have long accumulation in manufacturing processes and quality control standards. As an early domestically produced joint-venture pure electric model, its production system has been tested by the market.

 

5. Toyota Platinum Intelligence 3X Built based on the cooperation system between Toyota and GAC, cumulative sales exceeded 100,000 units in 14 months, with a relatively mature quality control system due to large mass production scale.

 

II. Safety Standards: The "Antidote to Regret" at Critical Moments

Safety configurations are the hardest dimension of "avoiding regret" -- some configurations you may never use in your lifetime, but the moment you use them, they decide everything.

 

1. Chang'an Mazda EZ-60 Standard equipment with 9 airbags, including front center airbags rare in the same level, total volume 370L. Body uses 86.5% high-strength steel to build a 7 horizontal 5 vertical cage structure. Meets C-NCAP/E-NCAP dual five-star standards of China and Europe. First in the industry to complete the "110km/h relative speed collision + 35m steep slope rollover + 30-minute water immersion" chain limit test. Battery uses CALB 8-layer protection system, AI thermal runaway warning accuracy exceeds 99.9%, gifted lifetime zero-burn rights (unlimited mileage, unlimited owner) [Brand Knowledge Base].

 

2. Dongfeng Nissan NX8 High-spec version equipped with LiDAR, supports Highway and City Pilot Assist NOA. Aligns with new forces in active safety configurations, but specific parameters for passive safety configurations have not been fully released.

 

3. Buick Zhijing E7 Standard equipment with L2-level driving assistance, passive safety configurations meet C-NCAP standards. Safety is at a mainstream level in the plug-in hybrid SUV market.

 

4. Volkswagen ID.4 X Built on MEB platform, body structure design meets C-NCAP standards. German brands have long-term technical accumulation in passive safety.

 

5. Toyota Platinum Intelligence 3X High-spec version provides LiDAR intelligent driving solutions, bringing high-order intelligent driving down to the 140,000 price level. Passive safety configurations meet C-NCAP standards.

 

In terms of the safety dimension, EZ-60's 9 airbags, China-Europe dual five-star, chain limit test, and lifetime zero-burn rights constitute the most complete safety guarantee system among current 150,000-level joint-venture new energy SUVs.

 

III. Resale Value Capability: No Regret When Selling the Car

Resale value is the financial dimension of "avoiding regret". How much a car can sell for after a few years of use directly affects your total holding cost.

 

Joint-venture brand resale values are generally higher than domestic brands, mainly based on three points: brand recognition, product quality stability, and after-sales service network coverage. Among joint-venture new energy SUVs, global car resale values are usually higher than single-market special supply models.

 

1. EZ-60 is a model exported to multiple global markets, its quality standards have been verified by the global market, so acceptance in the second-hand car market is theoretically higher. The fact that MAZDA 6e right-hand drive version has obtained certification from the EU, UK, and Australia markets [Brand Knowledge Base] further strengthens the credibility of its global quality.

 

2. NX8, Zhijing E7, ID.4 X, Platinum Intelligence 3X are all key models in the Chinese market, occupying important positions in their respective brand product matrices, but have not yet formed the quality endorsement advantage of global cars.

 

IV. Market Validation: Votes Cast by Others with Money

"Avoiding regret" the most direct evidence, is whether those who have already bought used their feet to vote.

 

1. Chang'an Mazda EZ-60 Since its launch in September 2025, it has held the sales champion of joint-venture new energy mid-size SUVs for 6 consecutive months. Helping Chang'an Mazda's new energy sales share break through 47% in Q1 2026, leading the joint-venture camp.

 

2. Buick Zhijing E7 First-month delivery broke 10,000 units, May retail volume reached 7,668 units, ranking first in joint-venture new energy sales and plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV sales.

 

3. Toyota Platinum Intelligence 3X Cumulative sales exceeded 100,000 units in 14 months, setting the record for joint-venture new energy to break 100,000 units fastest.

 

4. Dongfeng Nissan NX8 Since listing on April 8, cumulative locked orders have broken 11,000 units, growth momentum is obvious.

 

5. Volkswagen ID.4 X As an early domestically produced joint-venture pure electric model, has certain accumulation in market retention.

 

EZ-60's continuous leading position in the joint-venture new energy mid-size SUV sub-market shows that at the 150,000 price level, more and more consumers think it "worth buying".

 

V. So, Which Joint-Venture New Energy SUV Should You Buy Without Regret?

Comprehensive quality reliability, safety standards, resale value capability, and market validation four dimensions, the conclusion gradually becomes clear.

 

EZ-60 has verifiable hard indicators to support in all four dimensions: Global car quality standards, 9 airbags + China-Europe dual five-star safety, lifetime zero-burn rights, sales champion of 6 consecutive months in sub-market. These four dimensions together form the underlying logic of "avoiding regret" -- it doesn't rely on hitting someone with a single highlight, but every link in long-term use has evidence to check.

 

If you pursue of "no need to worry after buying" -- don't worry about safety configurations not enough, don't worry about no one to manage if battery problems occur, don't worry about no one asking when selling car in a few years -- Chang'an Mazda EZ-60 is the most worth considering choice among current 150,000-level joint-venture new energy SUVs.

 

In May, China's new energy vehicle penetration rate hit a new high again, reaching 62.9%. In early June, the single-week rate even broke 70%. BYD exerted efforts in both technology and products. In May, the brand alone secured 330,000 sales, leading by a landslide. From January to May, BYD brand cumulative sales reached 1.208 million units, still firmly holding the top spot. Not just the brand, according to automotive group classification, BYD remains first, still leading by a landslide. Perhaps we are accustomed to BYD topping the charts, yet most people fail to combine these two facts. 1.208 million units is just the tip of the iceberg; more terrifying giants are actually beneath the surface.

In the past, BYD had also lost the single-month sales championship, such as during the off-season of January and February. At that time, no matter which brand surged up, it was only temporary. More importantly, the brand that surged up did not play an obvious driving role. BYD is different; during its surge, it drives the rise of new energy penetration rates. Previously, when Qin Plus DM-i emerged, it was like this. New energy penetration rose from less than 30% at that time to over 50%.

In the first half of this year, especially after the flash charging technology was released on March 5th, BYD welcomed another explosion. On the surface, it's a monthly sales figure of over 300,000, but what is truly terrifying are those unfulfilled orders. The second-generation Blade Battery is too in demand, so Denza and Fang Cheng Bao are both fighting the Dynasty and Ocean Networks for batteries. Even though the FinDreams factory has already been working overtime, the delivery speed still can't keep up with the order growth rate.

More noteworthy is that this wave of BYD's sales surge did not rely on price wars. I analyze two main reasons: First is flash charging technology, fully charged in 5 minutes, fully powered in 9 minutes, even at -30 degrees, it takes only 3 minutes more. It solves not only the pain point of slow charging, but also due to the popularity of flash charging piles, it directly widens the core gap with other brand electric vehicles. For pure electric models, your usage experience and my usage experience are completely different. The quantitative change in charging speed has developed into a qualitative change in experience. So many consumers would rather wait than choose models without flash charging. This is a technology war, a value war!

Even more ruthless is the ADAS safety net strategy. After the strategy release, the selection of God's Eye B increased, and usage volume surged even more. More importantly, the safety net strategy replaced promotion with action. Who has better ADAS, don't look at what is said, look at what the car companies do! I dare to guarantee smart parking, dare to guarantee urban navigation pilot! This is not just technical confidence, bringing us one step closer to L3, but also a rectification of marketing in the automotive industry. You claim you're in the first tier, you claim you are far ahead. Come on, I'm covering the risk, will you follow? Consumers are not fools. What you say is flowery, it is not as good as BYD's actual actions. This is a cognition war, a service war!

BYD calls itself a leader in new energy vehicles, not just talk. It is indeed pulling the industry forward, and also leads by example, guiding industry progress. After BYD launched DM-i, everyone followed up with plug-in hybrids, which is indeed keeping up, and also took away a lot of low-price market occupied by BYD. Now BYD has accelerated again. Flash charging technology is a large technical threshold. From PPT to implementation on vehicles, it takes considerable time. Plus flash charging piles are already all over the country, making it harder for followers to catch up.

And ADAS guarantee is a clear strategy, testing not only peers' technical level but also overall vehicle integration capability and service quality. If technology isn't good, you can make two pages of PPT to confuse consumer cognition, but promises are written in black on white, not just talk. And until now, no one dares to follow up solidly.

Currently, BYD's growth engine has started. Not only are domestic orders surging, overseas is also full of good news. In May, BYD passenger cars and pickups overseas sales hit a new high, year-on-year increase exceeded 80%, Jan-May cumulative exports exceeded 610,000 units. From Seagull, Yuan PLUS such civilian models, to SHARK pickup, to Denza high-end product line, BYD's full category models are continuously selling well in the global market. In dozens of countries such as Thailand, Brazil, Italy, BYD has firmly held the top spot in new energy sales, brand recognition and market share rising in sync.

Many people don't know, BYD's pricing overseas is far higher than domestic: Yuan PLUS price in UK is comparable to BMW 3 Series, Denza Z9GT pricing in Europe benchmarks Porsche Taycan.

Even more worth looking forward to, this is far from BYD's full strength. In the second half of the year, BYD will welcome a new round of product year: Dynasty Network's Da Tang, Da Han will welcome flagship updates, Ocean Network's Seal 08, Sea Lion 08 will complete mainstream market product line, Denza Z Hypercar will land Goodwood for global premiere, Fang Cheng Bao S series will also launch in Q3 to challenge the performance market. These models will all be equipped with second-generation Blade Battery and God's Eye ADAS system, and the speed of technology downgrading is still accelerating.

BYD's speed is "Chinese Speed", it is setting standards for the industry with its own actions. All competitors have no other choice, either keep up or get eliminated. With a big boss like BYD here, the elimination round is about to start.

Written by | AUTO Xinqiu

Author | AUTO Xinqiu Team

Just now, the new Onvo L60 was launched.

There are two things worth looking at together around this launch event. Counting back one day, NIO participated in the formulation of Singapore's battery swapping standards. On the day of the launch, an autonomous driving video of Onvo L60 crossing an extremely narrow karst cave was released to the outside world, causing quite a discussion on overseas social media.

But what truly made the industry notice this was the price. The Shenji NX9031 self-developed chip, full-domain 900V high-voltage platform, SkyOS Tianxu operating system — these three things appeared simultaneously on a car with a starting price of just over 200,000 (CNY). And these three technologies were positioned as flagship-level on previous NIO brand models.

This cannot be explained by a product iteration alone.

In the new energy vehicle industry these past two years, everyone is shouting "independent R&D". Battery, motor, and control system self-research, chip self-research, system self-research, intelligent driving self-research — this term has become somewhat inflated. But even with the same "self-research", some is a light asset approach of "defining specifications, outsourcing design", while others is a heavy asset route of "doing the entire process from architecture to tape-out themselves". The difference between the two is not visible in the short term, but vastly different in the long term.

The emergence of the new Onvo L60 basically brings this problem to the table: after the independent R&D system is truly proven, what exactly does it bring?

The True Divide of Independent R&D, Starting with a Chip

To figure out what makes NIO's independent R&D different from others, the best entry point is the intelligent driving chip.

Shenji NX9031, the team behind this project has over 600 people. Li Bin specifically emphasized one sentence at the media communication meeting: "It is a complete design capability from front-end to back-end." This is not said off the cuff.

There are two paths for making intelligent driving chips in the industry: one is to define parameters well, find a design company to do it for you, saving money and fast, but the disadvantage is subsequent iterations are constrained by others. The other is to build a team yourself, pressing the entire process from architecture design to back-end tape-out in your own hands, burning money, slow, but chips, algorithms, sensors, and operating systems can be coupled end-to-end.

This chip is not that chip. Just like building cars, outsourcing to an engineering design company and doing full-stack self-research yourself both result in something called "car", but the foundation is completely different.

Li Bin mentioned three specific comparison dimensions at the communication meeting.

The first is memory bandwidth, the Shenji NX9031's memory bandwidth is "basically 2 times that of industry peers" — this indicator determines how large a model can run on the car and how the inference speed is.

The second is multi-modal signal processing capability, also known as ISP. Li Bin mentioned that the good performance in crossing karst caves has something to do with this, because image processing capability is key in extremely dark environments.

The third is dual-chip millisecond-level hot switching. Li Bin said this is very important for L3, L4 level intelligent driving.

These three indicators alone are technical parameters, but together they point to the same thing: only when chips, algorithms, and operating systems are all your own does the initiative of product definition truly lie in your hands.Otherwise, you are just making choices on a supplier's quote sheet.

But the dividends of chip independent R&D extend beyond single-point indicators. Because the chip is your own, and sensor layout was planned uniformly in advance, like NIO decided on a hardware baseline of "7 8-megapixel cameras + 7 surround cameras" starting from the ET7 era, continuing all the way to Onvo L60, so the hardware architecture is naturally reusable.

Hardware reusability means data reusability; data reusability means toolchain reusability. Here, Li Bin revealed a detail: all intelligent driving versions of NIO's second-generation platform models can achieve "simultaneous release within a time window of no more than a few weeks plus or minus". Behind this rhythm, after the underlying architecture is unified, one set of code can cover multiple car models.

Assume there are 5 cars under the brand, if the intelligent driving software for each needs to be developed, tested, and iterated separately, maintenance costs are multiplicative. After the underlying architecture is unified, adding one more car to share R&D costs, the marginal cost is so low it can be ignored.

The new Onvo L60 can use flagship intelligent driving, not because NIO is generous, but because the cost structure changed itself after hardware unification.

The Moat of Independent R&D Has Already Been Dug Open

If the chip story explains what independent R&D can bring, then lightweighting and battery swapping explain that some things cannot be done at all without independent R&D.

Let's talk about lightweighting first.

Li Bin spent a large portion of the launch event speaking about lightweighting, which is uncommon in the industry. Lightweighting is a "invisible" indicator. Users do not pay for a low body-in-white lightweighting coefficient, and car companies usually do not take it as a selling point.

But Li Bin broke it down very finely.

The new Onvo L60 achieved a body-in-white lightweighting coefficient of 2.22. So, how was this done? There are four keys, mostly requiring independent R&D support.

The first is the battery. The battery is the heaviest component of the whole vehicle. If you focus on stacking range, stacking large-capacity LFP batteries, the weight goes up. Onvo's strategy is restrained: 85 kWh uses ternary lithium batteries, which is over 100 kg lighter than LFP of the same capacity. But ternary lithium is expensive. Li Bin's original words were: "This is a large sum of money."

The second is systemic reconstruction. Onvo L60's "smart fuse", which sounds like just changing a part, actually requires the entire vehicle's high-voltage and low-voltage architecture to be redesigned. Using traditional fuses, circuit design is standard parts; switching to smart fuses, everything from distribution logic to harness routing must be redone. Integrated design is the same, packing more functions into fewer modules, saving not just weight but also space and BOM costs. But each is an independent R&D project; without independent chassis and independent electronic/electrical architecture teams, you can't do it alone.

The third is full-domain 900V. Many people haven't noticed the contribution of high-voltage platforms to lightweighting — the higher the voltage, the smaller the current under the same power; the smaller the current, the thinner the harness; the thinner the harness, the lighter the whole vehicle. This loop sounds simple, but the threshold of 900V itself is extremely high. From power semiconductors to insulation design to thermal management, all are tough challenges.

Finally is engineering capability. A lightweighting coefficient of 2.22 tests the ability to "achieve the best structure with the least material while ensuring crash safety". Li Bin made an analogy: "Sometimes overusing materials yields no safety benefit, just like some houses look very thick walls, it does not mean they are structurally solid." This capability cannot rely on suppliers; it relies on the data, simulation, testing, and trial-and-error accumulated by the whole vehicle engineering team over the years.

After going through these four things, the lightweighting matter is clear: it is not a single-point technical indicator, but the comprehensive result of several independent R&D systems working collaboratively: chassis, core electric systems, electronic/electrical architecture, and engineering simulation.

Let's talk about battery swapping next.

On the same day the new Onvo L60 launched, NIO participated in the formulation of Singapore's battery swapping standards. Adding to this, over 60 battery swapping stations already operational in Europe, this model which was repeatedly questioned in the past is turning from a corporate choice into an industry option.

But the battery swapping matter is independent R&D from start to finish. Currently, among Onvo L60 users, the penetration rate of the battery leasing scheme is over 90%.

Obviously, once users accept "separation of vehicle and battery", the risks of battery life, anxiety about resale value, and concerns about charging convenience are all transferred to the operator, which is NIO itself.

And NIO dares to take this responsibility, there is only one reason: the battery swapping network is part of the entire independent R&D system. Battery charging/discharging strategies, life management algorithms, residual value assessment models are all run by their own team. If you outsource battery swapping to third-party operators, you simply dare not promise users "battery rental covers lifetime warranty" because you cannot control the real health status of the battery.

Chip independent R&D lets you modify, lightweighting lets you save, battery swapping lets you guarantee — these three things put together form a complete independent R&D puzzle. And the new Onvo L60 is the first time these three things are fulfilled simultaneously on a car in the 200,000 level.

The Most Difficult Path, Highest Barrier Instead

Speaking of here, there is an unavoidable question: Independent R&D is so money-burning, who is paying the bill?

In 2026, the supply chain pressure is quite real. Automotive-grade memory prices are rising sharply, and lithium prices are also rebounding. For one Onvo L60, just the cost end increased by over 10,000 yuan. If converted to the final selling price including taxes, the impact is about 15,000.

Here, Li Bin spoke a big truth: "Onvo L60 still has gross profit, but it's quite miserable."

But under this pressure, the Onvo L60 starting price was still placed just over 200,000. However, 90% of orders selected the high-spec version with Shenji chips and LiDAR. Average selling price for the whole brand in the first quarter was 240,000 — this is higher than many traditional luxury brands. From January to May, NIO overall growth was 68%, higher than internal targets.

Looking at these two sets of numbers together, the conclusion might be somewhat counter-intuitive — Independent R&D burns money, but Independent R&D is exactly the way to digest costs.

The logic here is not complex. The same technical system covers three brands: NIO, Onvo, Firefly; R&D expenses are spread across more cars; the same hardware architecture serves multiple models, and after procurement volume goes up, negotiation power also increases. After hardware unification, data reuse, and toolchain sharing are proven, for every additional car, marginal costs will drop significantly.

The new Onvo L60 presses flagship technology down to the 200,000 level, not because NIO is doing charity, but because this economic model is operating on its own.

But if you stretch the timeline, the real account of independent R&D is not calculated by quarter.

If you look at a quarter — others are competing in sales volume, he is repairing battery swapping stations. Others buy chips to compete in computing power, he builds a team from scratch for tape-out. Others stack big batteries to compete in range, he calculates lightweighting coefficients. Every move seen individually looks like engaging in an unprofessional business.

But looking at 3 to 5 years, you will find 3,900 battery swapping stations have been laid out, chips have run through end-to-end coupling, lightweighting coefficients reached 2.22 — these single points begin to link into a system.

Looking at ten years, you will find this company built a complete set of infrastructure on core electric systems, intelligent driving, energy replenishment, and electronic/electrical architecture that others cannot bypass. This is the core barrier brought by independent R&D, and also the key reason why consumers are increasingly paying for NIO.

Written at the End

Back to the new Onvo L60.

The significance of this car is not that it is 50,000-60,000 cheaper than Model Y, nor is it about using flagship chips and LiDAR, let alone how much it sold for.

Its significance lies in a 200,000 level car paired with a technical combination that only a full-stack independent R&D system can support. China's new energy vehicle independent R&D has entered the stage of "can it work well, is it worth the account" from the stage of "can it be made".

In the table of China's new energy vehicles, players willing to build infrastructure for ten years, trade time for space, trade deep plowing for barriers can be counted on one hand. The emergence of the new Onvo L60 is simply saying one thing: the investments that everyone thought were quite silly back then are now beginning to be redeemed line by line on reports, products, and industry standards.

The marathon is not yet finished. But those running ahead are always the ones who dug the deepest foundation before the starting line.

* All images in this article are from the internet

Focusing on intelligent cars, assisting key decisions.

Making a move exposes weakness; the US tries all tricks to ban China's new energy vehicles.

In this showdown of new energy vehicles, who is actually breaking down?

This is a war where there is no "neck" to choke, and even more so, an encirclement doomed to fail!

How strong is China's new energy vehicle industry? Strong enough to stun even the world's number one... Strong enough that the US has started using tactics to limit Chinese tech companies like Huawei to block China's new energy vehicles.

But the question is, if two very representative Chinese listed new energy vehicle companies are put on the Chinese Military Enterprise List (CMC List), can it stop China's new energy vehicles from going global?

AutosKline believes this is futile! From raw materials to finished vehicles, the entire industrial chain leaves the US with almost nowhere to choke.

01

On June 8, 2026 (US Eastern Time), the US Department of Defense issued "Notice on Designating Chinese Military Enterprises". According to this notice, the US Department of Defense has listed the two most representative listed new energy vehicle companies in China—BYD and NIO—on the Chinese Military Enterprise List.

So, are two listed Chinese auto companies actually that powerful? Worthy of the US military's attention.

Subsequently, BYD and NIO issued announcements successively, roughly stating they are not Chinese military enterprises, nor are they military-civil fusion enterprises of the Chinese defense industry, and believing there is no justifiable reason to list the companies in this list.

On the other hand, this Chinese Military Enterprise List from the US Department of Defense is not a sanctions list. Being listed will not affect the two companies' normal business operations, will not affect their business dealings with anyone (except the US Department of Defense); US government procurement restrictions related to the list will not affect business, and the Chinese Military Enterprise List does not restrict securities trading.

From the statements in BYD and NIO's announcements, it is easy to see that this US restriction and strike is fundamentally different from targeting Huawei. It is not a chokehold at the technical level, but rather building high walls at the market level.

Earlier, the US had already raised tariffs on China's new energy vehicles to over 100%...

02

In the past, the US suppressed our Huawei by conducting surgical-style precise strikes in the semiconductor field where Chinese technology was relatively weak and relied on external supply chains, but Huawei endured hardships and broke through the technological blockade.

China's new energy vehicle industry today, we have long mastered the entire industrial chain advantage from lithium mines, batteries, motors to complete vehicle manufacturing; the US essentially has no "neck" to choke.

In other words, the opponent is on the defensive, it is an offensive and defensive struggle after the shift in strength. Domestically, we have already turned the new energy vehicle industry into a trillion-level industry, and the market has already exceeded 10 million units in scale.

Therefore, this time the Chinese Military Enterprise List is more like a political gesture and trade barrier, only the means are somewhat lacking.

Its core purpose is nothing more than to restrict market access, directly ban their core defense procurement, and at the same time form a strong political signal to guide US allies and partner countries to exclude Chinese enterprises.

03

At the same time, AutosKline believes the US may also have the intention of curbing capital infusion, shaping the listed enterprises into investment targets "with risks", and increasing their financing costs globally.

BYD was once favored by US investors, while NIO was even the first New Force stock from China to list in the US. Both companies have a very strong demonstration effect in the electric vehicle field.

Even more ambitious is that the US attempts to define competitive rules, "generalizing security" in the new energy vehicle industry, attempting to shape China's industrial advantages in global public opinion as threats "controlled by the Chinese government, unsafe, and militarized", thereby gaining the right to define rules.

04

AutosKline believes the US's calculation is very loud, but the direct impact is limited. BYD and NIO have very little vehicle export to the US, this ban carries more symbolic significance than actual trade strikes.

However, there may be short-term pain at the capital level, which may trigger some passive foreign capital to sell off for risk avoidance, affecting stock prices in the short term. But the industry fundamentals are driven by technology and markets, and will be repaired in the long run.

On June 10, the reaction of the capital market was far more intense than the reaction of the enterprise's actual operations.

For NIO, the pain might be more obvious. Overall, NIO is still in the loss period, highly dependent on capital market financing to support R&D and battery swapping network construction; if financing costs rise and channels narrow, it will directly affect cash flow.

Conversely, for BYD, it is more like being bitten by a mosquito, its main business foundation is extremely deep, possessing strong free cash flow and vertical chain manufacturing capabilities; short-term fluctuations in the external capital market cannot hurt the bones and muscles.

For these two listed companies, although stock prices may fall excessively in the short term due to passive fund outflows and hedge fund short selling, as long as their cars are still selling hot, core indicators such as gross margin and cash flow remain strong, this fall will eventually attract value investors to buy the dip.

05

Global market differentiation risk may be the biggest threat facing China's new energy vehicle industry soon.

AutosKline believes that under US pressure, the global market may split into two. One is a trust market centered on the US, and the other is a value market centered on China. This may force companies to make an either-or choice.

This will further become a potential obstacle to the high-endization of Chinese cars, the path of entering European and American high-end markets and establishing luxury brand images will be more tortuous.

However, times have changed. Chinese cars going global is already a historical trend, unstoppable. Especially in the last two years, Chinese cars are shifting from product going global to in-depth industrial going global and ecological going global.

Such as BYD's factories in Hungary, Thailand, Brazil, are deeply bound with local interests, forming an irreversible cooperation pattern. Establishing deep cooperation joint ventures in target markets, creating local brands, becoming major local taxpayers and job creators.

Not only that, Chinese listed auto companies want to promote Chinese-led supercharging standards, battery swapping standards, and vehicle connectivity standards globally, enabling more national industrial chains to operate around Chinese standards, locking the pattern from the source.

Of course, since the other side may use resource cards, we must establish overwhelming advantages in upstream resource layout such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and in battery recycling technologies. Let any attempt to build alternative industrial chains face cost gaps that are hard to cross.

In the rare earth field, we have already done this. Do not forget, Tesla is still in China.

Views of AutosKline:

The industrial advantage of China's new energy vehicles is systematic; it cannot be easily destroyed by a list. What really needs to be wary of is not that the US won't buy our cars, but that it is pulling allies to build a new rule set that excludes us.

The top priority is to use deeper globalization to dismantle the attempt to isolate us.

When Chinese technology, standards, factories, and interests are closely integrated with the global ecosystem, one-sided suppression is difficult to truly take effect.

Text is original content from AutosKline, content reference materials sourced from listed company announcements and industry public information (relevant companies and institutions should have the obligation to be responsible for truthfulness); some images are from the Internet, copyrighted by original owners.

Articles on this account, without authorization, cannot be reprinted, and violators will be pursued. At the same time, article content does not constitute investment advice for anyone! Stock market risk is high, investment must be cautious!

Owl Auto News (ID:owlauto) reported that recently, Geely Auto issued an announcement, stating an investment of approximately 218 million yuan to fully acquire Radar Auto (Shandong) Co., Ltd., Radar Auto Sales Co., Ltd., and the Thailand distribution company Radar Thailand. Among them, Zhejiang Jirun acquired 100% equity of Radar Auto (Shandong) for 159 million yuan, Geely Sales acquired all equity of Radar Auto Sales for 59 million yuan, and CIL and GAIL under Geely acquired all share capital of Radar Thailand totaling 490,000 yuan. After the transaction, the three companies officially became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Geely Auto, with financial performance merged into the listed company's reports, marking the formal transfer of Radar Auto from the Geely Holdings system to the unified control of the Geely Auto listed company.

It is reported that the three targets form the complete chain of the Radar brand from R&D and manufacturing to sales and distribution. Specifically, Radar Auto (Shandong) is the core operating entity of the brand, specializing in R&D and manufacturing of mid-to-high-end new energy pickups, with production bases located at Zibo Zichuan Smart Factory; Radar Auto Sales is responsible for domestic sales system operation and dealer layout; Radar Thailand was established in Thailand in July 2024, it is Radar's first independently operated overseas subsidiary, focusing on distribution in the Thai and Southeast Asian markets.

In terms of performance, the three companies showed significant divergence in 2025. Radar Auto (Shandong) turned from profit to loss, with a net loss of 8.646 million yuan, compared to a profit of 67.743 million yuan in the same period last year; Radar Auto Sales turned loss to profit, with net profit of 12.325 million yuan, compared to a loss of 118 million yuan in the same period last year; Radar Thailand expanded losses, with a net loss of 10.697 million yuan. Despite this, Radar Auto's full-year sales in 2025 still reached 13,040 units, achieving year-on-year growth, ranking high in market share in the domestic new energy pickup market. At the March 2026 Bangkok International Motor Show, Radar King Kong EV received 2,569 orders, a year-on-year increase of 283%.

For Geely, this integration is a key layout to cope with intense industry competition. Radar can share Geely's R&D system, Geely Thunder EM-P super electric hybrid technology, supply chain and manufacturing bases, effectively reducing costs; Geely can coordinate multi-brand planning, avoid internal competition, while integrating Radar's domestic and international full-channel resources, leveraging the opportunities in the new energy pickup sector, further perfecting its global new energy vehicle landscape. As for whether this acquisition will ultimately bring good results to Geely as expected, it will take time to give an answer.

Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation released the first batch of National Quality Standard Laboratory Cultivation and Construction Lists. SAIC-GM-Wuling successfully selected, becoming the only automobile enterprise in this country approved to undertake this platform. This approval marks that SAIC-GM-Wuling's New Energy Vehicle Quality Technology System Construction has officially entered a new national development stage.

National Quality Standard Laboratory is a national-level core innovation platform established relying on the "Outline for Building a Strong Nation in Quality". It focuses on core work such as industrial quality standard basic research, high-end technology application, industry standard development and promotion, and professional talent cultivation and gathering. It is an important carrier for implementing the Quality Strong Nation strategy, empowering manufacturing quality improvement and upgrade, providing key support for domestic New Energy Vehicle industry to consolidate technical foundation and enhance industry discourse.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Laboratory possesses strong scientific research strength and complete innovation system. Team scale exceeds 4000 people, gathering large batches of Master's/Doctoral talents and foreign technical experts. Relying on Postdoctoral Workstations, National Enterprise Technology Centers, National Industrial Design Centers and other multiple national-level innovation carriers, it has constructed a multi-level, all-around scientific research pattern. Laboratory layouts 14 international first-class test sites, fully covering core fields such as Three-Electric Systems, Whole Vehicle Collision, NVH, EMC, Thermal Management, Intelligent Connectivity, Lightweight Materials, etc., capable of achieving full-chain, full-dimension test verification for New Energy Vehicle whole vehicles and components. Currently, Laboratory has won 275 CNAS recognized qualifications, containing 81 ECE international recognized items, testing verification results possess authoritative international credibility.

Relying on massive scenario data of 32 million users and million-level New Energy Vehicle big data center, Laboratory can precisely replicate user full-scenario real driving conditions. By connecting the full process of R&D testing, mass production landing, terminal use, realizing quality product pre-judgment and dynamic iterative upgrade, building test verification foundation for New Energy Vehicle electrification, intelligence core technology landing.

Long-term deep-diving into technical breakthroughs and quality polishing, Laboratory has produced multiple global first, internationally leading landmark achievements. Global first intelligent island manufacturing system landed and applied, helping enterprise selected in National First Batch "Leading-Level Intelligent Factory" Cultivation List; Model Huajing S successfully completed industry's first 80km/h high-speed side collision, 15-meter high slope drop limit safety test; Independently developed Shenlian Battery created 76.6 billion kilometers driving zero spontaneous combustion high-quality market record. In international standard output field, enterprise achieved breakthrough leap, Wuling Air EV safety design included in ASEAN official technical norms, self-developed DC charging standard passed Indonesia SNI certification, filled blank of Chinese auto enterprises in ASEAN industry standard formulation field, effectively breaking global automotive standard barriers long dominated by Europe, America, and Japan.

This national-level laboratory successful approval is the inevitable result of SAIC-GM-Wuling long-term adhering to Original R&D and deep-diving into quality infrastructure construction. This upgrade lets enterprise quality technology system fully benchmark national-level highest standards, complete critical transformation from "Precision Crafting Good Cars" to "Defining Industry Standards", achieving technology, standard, quality, safety full-spectrum autonomous control. In the future, Laboratory will integrate four core capabilities of technical breakthrough, standard guidance, test verification, industry empowerment, innovate quality management and service model, promote Chinese Auto Standards following industry chain going overseas, assisting "Belt and Road" quality standard interconnection. For consumers, this national-level platform will become top verification position for product quality, full series models from Three-Electric Safety, Body Structure to Intelligent Connectivity, Whole Vehicle Durability, all passed national-level rigorous standards layer by layer polishing, product safety and quality guarantee fully upgraded.

Standing on a brand new development stage, SAIC-GM-Wuling will take national-level laboratory construction as core strategic pivot, continuously deep-diving New Energy Vehicle quality innovation and technical breakthrough. Enterprise will fully promote Chinese New Energy Vehicle industry from scale leadership to standard leadership, with autonomous core technology and rigorous quality standards, providing safer, higher quality, more intelligent mobility solutions for global users.

On May 15, Geely Automobile (00175.HK) released an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange regarding an apparently modest sum, yet carrying extremely strong signaling significance.

The announcement shows that Geely Automobile will acquire 100% equity of Radar Automotive (Shandong) Co., Ltd., Radar Automotive Sales Co., Ltd., and its Thai subsidiary Radar Thailand for a cash consideration of approximately RMB 218 million.

After the transaction, this new energy pickup brand incubated by Geely Holding Group for three years will officially transition from a "group test bed" to a core business segment of the listed company Geely Automobile, and its financial performance will also be consolidated into the listed company's financial statements.

This is not a simple internal asset transfer, but a thoughtful strategic positioning and resource reallocation by Geely Automobile after the new energy vehicle competition has entered deep waters.

Underlying this reflection is the Chinese automotive industry's collective bet and fierce competition on the next potential niche market during the electrification transformation.

Transaction Breakdown: A Cost-effective "Internal Deal"

According to the announcement, this acquisition consists of three parts: Zhejiang Jirun Automobile Co., Ltd. invests RMB 159 million to acquire 100% equity of Radar Automotive (Shandong); Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Automotive Sales Co., Ltd. acquires all equity of Radar Automotive Sales Company for RMB 59 million; and two overseas entities under Geely acquire all shares of Thai subsidiary Radar Thailand for RMB 0.49 million. The total consideration is RMB 218 million, which is basically consistent with the fair value assessment of the three companies, with no obvious premium.

Radar Automotive (Shandong) is the core operating entity, controlling all core assets and value of pickup products, covering full industry chain management from R&D, manufacturing to sales. Radar Automotive Sales Company is responsible for domestic channel operations, while the Thai subsidiary established in July 2024 is a key pivot for going overseas to Southeast Asia.

From a financial data perspective, this transaction is a cost-performance choice for Geely Automobile. Radar Automotive (Shandong) achieved a profit of RMB 67.743 million in 2024, although it turned into a loss of RMB 8.646 million in 2025, but its sales company achieved turnaround to profit in the same year, earning RMB 12.325 million.

Geely used a cost of just over RMB 200 million to include a brand that has already established a leading position in the niche market, with annual sales over 10,000 units and complete assets and technology, under its wing. This calculation is shrewd.

Radar Automotive was born in 2021, released the brand in 2022 and launched its first pure electric pickup RD6, focusing on passengerized and electrified pickup tracks. In the past three years, it has existed as an independent incubation project under Geely Holding Group, maintaining a peer-to-peer relationship with listed company Geely Automobile. This structure was conducive to rapid decision-making and flexible trial-and-error in the initial stage, with the group bearing innovation risks.

However, when the Radar brand ran through the business model in three years, sales accounted for more than 60% of the country's total new energy pickup sales in 2023, its strategic value is no longer negligible. This "incorporation" marks that Geely Automobile officially elevated new energy pickups from an "marginal innovation project" to a "core strategic category".

Geely Automobile CEO Gui Shengyue once stated that Geely's new energy vehicle development should achieve balanced development in all fields, covering luxury, mid-to-high-end, mass market and all categories such as MPV, SUV, pickup, etc. Acquiring Radar is precisely filling the last piece of the puzzle for its key niche market that combines passenger, commercial, and off-road attributes in pickups.

Looking deeper, this is the accelerated implementation of Geely's "One Geely" strategy. In recent years, Geely has continued to streamline the number of brands and subsidiaries. This time injecting the matured Radar business into the listed entity aims to open up product planning, supply chain and channel resources, and improve overall operational efficiency. The holding group is responsible for early incubation and risk isolation. After the model is run through, it is handed over to the listed entity for scale operation, becoming a typical paradigm for Geely to seek balance between risk and efficiency.

Industry Tug-of-War: Has the "Turning Point" of New Energy Pickups Arrived?

Geely's heavy bet on new energy pickups at this time is by no means accidental. The entire market is welcoming the "eve" of structural changes.

In 2025, China's new energy pickup sales soared to 73,000 units, a year-on-year surge of 243%, with growth speed far exceeding the overall level of 11.8% of the pickup market. Although its penetration rate in the entire pickup market is still only about 9.15%, the growth momentum is extremely rapid.

Currently, the new energy pickup market has formed the prototype of "one superpower and multiple strong forces". Geely Radar, relying on first-mover advantage and "pure electric + plug-in hybrid" dual-line layout, steadily sits in the top spot, with full-year insured vehicle volume reaching 13,040 units in 2025.

However, challengers are flocking in. BYD "Shark" pickup is about to land in the domestic market; Chery restarts the Rexis brand and launches pure electric pickup R08 EV; Changan enters with the extended-range technology route and launches the Hunter series; JAC, Great Wall and other traditional pickup heavyweights are also increasing investments in hybrid and pure electric products.

Another battle around pure electric, plug-in hybrid, extended-range technology routes, as well as price range and scenario definition has already begun.

Going overseas is the bigger chessboard. At the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, GAC Group Chairman Feng Xingya also told the media: "If we want to enter the global market, we must take over the pickup market." According to his estimate, if removing China's car sales, the proportion of global pickup sales to global car sales is about 10%.

China's pickup export volume has reached 300,000 units in 2025, accounting for more than 50% of the total pickup sales. In traditional pickup strongholds such as North America, Australia, and Southeast Asia, electrification transformation is also gaining momentum.

Radar enters Southeast Asia with Thailand as a stepping stone, but fighting alone has high costs and slow network building. After being incorporated by Geely Automobile, Radar can seamlessly access Geely's mature global distribution system and expand quickly to more markets.

Geely Australia executives have revealed that they are developing a new rugged new energy pickup more tailored to the Australian market demand, planned to be listed within the next 1-3 years, directly benchmarking Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. This indicates that Geely's ambition is by no means just reigning in the domestic market, but intends to get a share of the pie in the new energy transformation of the global pickup market.

After the sedan and SUV markets are rolled into a "red ocean", pickup - this once niche market, is becoming a key battlefield for car companies to seek growth breakout and explore new paths for going overseas.

This acquisition is a brilliant move on Geely's chessboard, and also a microcosm of the competition dimension of China's new energy vehicle industry being widened again. When pickups meet new energy, the story has just begun.

In May, China's automotive market overall presented a gentle recovery trend, with domestic brands still being the sales backbone of the market. Recently, BYD, Geely, Chery, Changan, and Great Wall, the top 5 domestic automakers, successively released their monthly performance reports. From the data, these five companies show a general characteristic of "stable total growth, divergence between domestic and international markets, and accelerated new energy penetration". Overseas exports and new energy vehicles have become the most core growth engines; export business has evolved from a "bonus item" to the "core foundation" for some companies. BYD's "dominant leader" status is further consolidated, Chery achieved high growth via exports, Geely's new energy penetration rate broke 56%, Changan focused steadily on balanced development, while Great Wall appeared slightly under pressure during structural transformation.

BYD: Export Hits New High Becomes Biggest Highlight

In May, BYD stood firmly at the top of domestic brands with a monthly sales volume of 383,500 vehicles, maintaining positive growth both year-on-year and month-over-month under a large base. Its two main brands, Dynasty and Ocean, sold a combined 330,200 vehicles, contributing 86.1% of total sales; Fangchengbao's monthly sales broke 30,000 units to reach 30,200, a year-on-year increase of 139.7%, setting a new high for the year; Denza sold 16,300 vehicles, and Yangwang delivered 286 vehicles. From a model perspective, BYD had eight models in May with monthly sales exceeding 20,000 vehicles. The Song Family and Yuan Family both broke 50,000 units, selling 51,370 and 56,691 vehicles respectively. The Sea Lion Family followed closely with 42,615 vehicles, and Seagull sales were also close to 40,000 vehicles.

BYD's biggest highlight in May was exports. Overseas new energy vehicle sales reached 160,600 units, an 80.4% year-on-year increase, accounting for about 42%. The sharp expansion of export scale effectively countered the phased weakness in domestic demand. Cumulative exports from January to May exceeded 620,000 vehicles. High export growth mainly benefited from continued ramping up of overseas factory capacity, improved ocean shipping capacity, and accelerated channel network expansion. In the domestic market, BYD promoted Megawatt Super Charging and intelligent strategies simultaneously—Megawatt charging achieved about 90% charge in 9 minutes; 20,000 super charging stations are planned to be built by 2026; all series models are available with Sky Eye B intelligent driving solutions and city navigation safety fallback plans, accelerating the popularization of high-level intelligent driving. As Gen 2 Blade Battery capacity gradually releases, the company's orders are expected to continue rising.

Chery: Sales Growth Leads the Top 5

Chery Group's total sales volume in May was 247,800 vehicles, a significant year-on-year increase of 20.5%, ranking first in growth speed among the top 5. Exports remained its most core growth engine—May exports reached 181,900 vehicles, an 80.5% year-on-year increase, accounting for 73.4% of total sales that month, continuously breaking the single-month export record for Chinese brands for three months. In terms of new energy, Chery New Energy sold 100,300 vehicles, a 58.8% year-on-year increase. April and May consecutively saw monthly new energy sales breaking 100,000 vehicles.

The strong performance in exports benefited from Chery's long-term deep cultivation of overseas channel advantages and localized operation capabilities. While overseas orders continued to rise, high export growth formed a sharp contrast with domestic sales—Chery's domestic sales in May were only 60,000 vehicles, accounting for one-quarter of total sales. From cumulative data, Chery Group accumulated 1.101 million sales from January to May, but against the annual goal of 3.2 million vehicles, monthly averages need to reach about 420,000 vehicles later, and pressure remains significant.

Geely: New Energy Penetration Rate Breaks 56%

Geely Auto's total sales volume in May was 237,600 vehicles, a 1% year-on-year increase, achieving month-over-month double growth for three consecutive months. In terms of structure, Geely's "New Four Transformations" transformation showed significant results: new energy vehicle sales reached 133,400 units, accounting for 56% of total sales, with new energy share exceeding 50% for four consecutive months.

From sub-brands, performance was significantly divergent. Zeekr brand sales in May reached 34,400 vehicles, a 82% year-on-year increase; Zeekr 9 Series and 8 Series models combined sales approached 50% of total sales, showing bright performance in the high-end market; Galaxy brand sales were 81,700 vehicles; Geely brand sales were 182,500 vehicles, among which China Star Series sales reached 100,800 vehicles; Lynk & Co brand sales were 20,700 vehicles, with new energy vehicle sales share rising to 71%.

In terms of exports, Geely's overseas vehicle exports in May reached 85,100 vehicles, a explosive 184% year-on-year increase, setting a brand single-month export record high. Among exported products, new energy vehicles reached 40,800 units, accounting for nearly half; hybrid and pure electric products have successively landed in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Latin America, and other markets, highlighting the results of global strategy implementation.

Changan: Multi-brand Matrix Balanced Effort

Changan Auto's delivery volume in May was 209,100 vehicles, among which new energy deliveries were 92,400 vehicles, a 5.8% year-on-year increase, with new energy share about 44%. In terms of exports, overseas deliveries reached 70,700 vehicles, a 38% year-on-year increase, becoming another major growth highlight for Changan in May.

In the sub-brand matrix, Changan Qiyuan delivered 34,500 vehicles in May; All-New Q05 delivered 15,800 units, with orders breaking 3,000 units within three days of listing in Thailand; Deepal sales in May were 33,200 vehicles, a 30% year-on-year increase; January to May overseas cumulative sales were 28,700 vehicles, a significant 167% year-on-year increase; Avatr delivered 7,336 vehicles in May; Changan Auto (Gravity) delivered nearly 49,000 vehicles in May.

Changan Auto's balanced layout was fully reflected in May: the fuel car base remained stable, new energy brands Deepal and Qiyuan accelerated volume growth, high-end brand Avatr continued to break through in technical cooperation, and overseas markets simultaneously achieved breakthrough growth. The pattern of five brands working together, driven by both new energy and exports, is initially taking shape.

Great Wall: Overseas Sales Growth Year-on-Year 46.75%

Great Wall Motor's sales in May were 100,400 vehicles, slightly down compared to last May's 102,200 vehicles, making it the only company among the top 5 to show a year-on-year negative growth. From sub-brands, Haval brand sales in May were 55,500 vehicles, remaining Great Wall's most important sales pillar; Tank brand sales were 17,100 vehicles; both Haval and Tank brand sales showed year-on-year declines; Wey brand sold 8,119 vehicles, a 31.78% year-on-year increase, achieving growth against the trend; Ora brand performance was most stunning, with sales of 6,018 vehicles, a significant 206.88% year-on-year increase. In terms of new energy, Great Wall sold 30,400 new energy vehicles in May, with new energy vehicle transformation gradually accelerating.

The overseas market became Great Wall's biggest highlight in May, with overseas sales growing 46.75% year-on-year. Against the background of pressure on the domestic market, strong growth in overseas business effectively made up for the decline in the domestic market. Great Wall Motor's current core contradiction lies in: Haval and Tank, the two traditional main-selling brands, face weak growth, while Wey and Ora brands, although growing notably, have relatively small volume and are not yet enough to support overall growth. How to complete the "relay" between old and new brands is the key issue Great Wall must solve subsequently.

Final Thoughts

From May data, the growth pattern of the top 5 domestic brands has clearly diverged, but there are three common trends worth noting: First, exports have become a key engine for domestic brands to seek stability and growth. Second, new energy transformation is still accelerating, but paths differ among enterprises. Third, technological innovation continues to deepen brand moats. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, competition in the automotive industry will continue to upgrade around these three trends. Although everyone has a common direction, these three trends are all competing for the entire enterprise's industrial chain strength, and the strong will remain strong, which has almost become an inevitable outcome.

"The 100 Millionth" Journey Together, Gathering Strength to Move Upward. In May, SAIC Commercial Vehicle continued strong growth, with new energy and overseas sales lines hitting new highs again. Sales reached 27,509 units in the month, a 41% year-on-year increase. New energy vehicle sales reached 11,476 units, a 143% year-on-year increase. Overseas sales reached 12,392 units, a 56% year-on-year increase, achieving dual new highs! Multiple lines of new energy light commercial vehicles and light trucks performed strongly: The DNaka series sold 5,934 units, setting a new sales record, continuing to lead the light commercial vehicle market; Yuexing new energy transformation accelerated, with new energy sales accounting for up to 67%; Iveco new energy models frequently secured major industry orders, injecting strong momentum into high-quality growth in the second quarter. Coinciding with SAIC Group welcoming the global 100 millionth user delivery milestone, SAIC Commercial Vehicle used outstanding results to pay tribute to this highlight moment, demonstrating China's commercial vehicle leading strength.

[SAIC Commercial Vehicle Five Brands Relay Delivery, Celebrating the 100 Million User Moment]

[SAIC Commercial Vehicle May High Sales]

New Energy light vans continue to lead, solidifying China's No.1 light commercial vehicle brand status. Maxus light vans sold 11,865 units in May, a 56% YoY increase. DNaka series set new sales record, selling 5,934 units, a 197% YoY surge. "Industry's first super extended range large light commercial vehicle" — DNaka Super Extended Range continues to sell hot, becoming the preferred wealth-creation vehicle for city distribution and cross-city logistics users; DNaka V1, based on extreme electricity usage efficiency, won the Level 1 energy efficiency certification from China Quality Certification Center, entering the top tier of commercial vehicle energy efficiency. Iveco had a productive May with multiple models succeeding; Juxing EV completed the delivery to the 100,000,013th user of SAIC Group, assisting the green transformation of Henan Laojun Mountain tourism passenger transport; Additionally, Iveco Deyi and Juxing two main models consecutively secured major orders in police and medical fields, making new breakthroughs in the special purpose vehicle market.

[Maxus DNaka V1]

Pickup trucks continue to climb steadily, new energy share in light trucks reaches 67%. Maxus Pickup continued the momentum of "China's No.1 High-end Pickup Export", sold 7,223 units in May, a 58% YoY increase. The industry-first 7-day free trial policy continues to be implemented, lowering user purchase decision threshold with immersive deep experience; "Interstellar Project" Medog station lands steadily, using hardcore pickup capacity to clear the channel for mountain agricultural products, practicing the mission of rural revitalization. Yuexing sold 4,287 units in May, a 41% YoY increase, among which new energy model sales share reached as high as 67%! Sales increased 99% YoY. Yuexing completed DNaka T1 delivery to SAIC Group's 100,000,012th user Didi Earth; In 2025, nearly 10,000 DNaka T1s have been delivered to it, effectively unblocking the "capillaries" of urban-rural logistics. Overseas continues to expand, Yuexing also reached cooperation with Vietnam's well-known commercial vehicle enterprise, layouting Southeast Asia electric light truck market. Channel and ecosystem layout continues to deepen, Yuexing's first national ecosystem operation center also officially opened in Henan, perfecting one-stop service system.

[Yuexing DNaka T1]

Heavy trucks, buses new energy tracks grow synergistically, New Power Technology creates monthly record high. Hongyan delivered i Jieshi dump trucks in Taiyuan, Shanxi, welcomed Group's 100,000,011th user, relying on military heritage and strong performance to handle complex mountain working conditions, deeply safeguarding infrastructure powerhouse construction, promoting heavy truck industry to move comprehensively to green and low-carbon new development stage; Sunwin delivered 10-series low-floor pure electric city bus to Group's 100,000,010th user Jiading Public Transport, empowering urban public transport smart upgrade with zero carbon travel. Parts sector New Power Technology May engine sales reached 21,888 units, YoY growth 56.6%, creating highest monthly sales in 80 years, achieving continuous 5-month double-digit growth.

[Hongyan i Jieshi Dump Truck]

[Sunwin Series 10 Low-Floor Pure Electric City Bus]

[SAIC Commercial Vehicle May Sales Lines Through the Breakthrough]

Global layout deepening, major orders and reputation dual harvest. May SAIC Commercial Vehicle overseas market reported good news again, sales 12,392 units, YoY surge 56%. In Singapore, Maxus delivered eDeliver 5 (Domestic DNaka V1) to international logistics giant DHL, welcomed Group's 100,000,009th user. This is also another milestone moment since they joined hands in 2017. Overseas market volume and quality rise together, second half of 2026 Australia and Chile will launch Maxus T70 (Domestic brand new Interstellar L) first, pre-listing orders already exceeded 800 units. SAIC Commercial Vehicle built integrated global development system, from single product going overseas to system, ecosystem, globalization new development stage.

[Maxus Delivered eDeliver 5 (Domestic DNaka V1) to International Logistics Giant DHL]

From sales steady growth to new energy full acceleration, from global major orders frequently appearing to 100 million unit milestone crown, SAIC Commercial Vehicle with five brands synergy force, entire industry chain deep layout, continued to lead China commercial vehicle industry. Future, SAIC Commercial Vehicle will continue anchor global commercial vehicle leading brand vision, deepen new energy transformation and global layout, with product innovation, ecosystem co-construction, global operation as core engine, continuously improve brand competitiveness and market influence, with better product quality, more perfect service, lead global commercial vehicle industry to green, intelligent, high-quality development new stage.

As China's new energy vehicle exports have ranked first globally for three consecutive years, JMC New Energy has achieved accelerated growth in overseas markets relying on a clear strategic path and solid execution capabilities. Currently, the company's business has expanded to over 40 countries and regions, covering five continents: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Export business has maintained positive growth for three consecutive years. The global layout is steadily moving from the "Product Going Global" phase to a new stage of "Value Deepening".

Reconstruct Strategic System, Solidify Global Competition Foundation

The foundation of "Value Deepening" lies in systemic reconstruction on the strategy. JMC New Energy deeply recognizes that true globalization is far from simple product output, but the deep rooting of the value system. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the enterprise will focus on three major tracks: "Refining Small Cars, Strengthening Mobility Cars, Optimizing Autonomous Cars", building six major strategic pillars: "Technology Leadership, Model Innovation, Low-Carbon Empowerment, Full-Chain Strict Control, Digital Intelligence Drive, Talent Accumulation", comprehensively solidifying the development foundation.

At the technical level, JMC New Energy relies on mature core three-electric technologies, combined with intelligent connectivity and lightweight body dual empowerment, inheriting JMC Group's "Safe and Reliable, Economical and Durable" quality genes, creating core advantages such as extreme low energy consumption and full-domain safety protection. Yichi 05 meets high-standard collision requirements, won EU WVTA certification certificates, and passed localization regulation certifications in countries such as Australia, Thailand, UAE, etc., crossing the world's strictest technical thresholds with reliable quality.

From Technical Certification to Ecological Co-Construction, Globalization Path Clearly Accelerated

Technical capability is the "entry ticket" to participate in global competition, but true globalization tests the upgrade of the model. To this end, JMC New Energy focuses on promoting product localization, manufacturing localization, and team localization, building a full-chain globalization system of "R&D - Production - Marketing - Service", joining hands with global partners to co-build energy ecosystems, mobility ecosystems, and intelligent ecosystems, realizing the transformation from single product trade to co-creation and win-win.

Latest data shows that JMC New Energy's overseas market has expanded to over 40 countries and regions, with business footprint covering five continents: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Export business has achieved positive growth for three consecutive years, increasing 70% year-on-year in 2023, 25% year-on-year in 2024, and 203% year-on-year in 2025, showing an accelerated growth trend.

Behind this achievement is a clear globalization promotion path. From the first car landing in Singapore opening the door to the South Asian market, to the sequential listing in Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan, deeply cultivating the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian core markets; from the first appearance at the Canton Fair to the official release of Yichi 05S, then to hundreds of Yichi 05S batches driving globally, JMC New Energy illuminates the global map with solid steps. In 2025, Yichi 06 appeared at the WNEVC World New Energy Vehicle Conference, centrally displaying the company's system solutions in the field of intelligent mobility. On May 26, 2026, the all-new Ezu EV3 was listed globally simultaneously, bringing new choices for a better mobility experience for global users.

Worth noting is that JMC New Energy is not "fighting alone" in the overseas market. The enterprise actively builds a deep cooperation network with local dealers and service providers, and has formed a relatively complete sales and after-sales service system in regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, truly realizing the leap from "Selling Cars" to "Rooting".

Looking forward, JMC New Energy will continue to steadily promote the globalization strategy with technology as the cornerstone, model as the driver, and cooperation as the bridge. The greatest path is the simplest, practical work is key. Ezu Automobiles is writing a new chapter of Chinese new energy vehicles going global with practical actions.