At the May market data press conference of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the current market situation was summarized as "domestic demand under pressure, foreign trade strong".
Entering 2026, the overseas exports of Chinese automobile enterprises have continued to climb. April and May saw consecutive monthly exports exceeding 900,000 units. In May, the overseas export volume had reached 930,000 units, just one step away from 1 million monthly exports.
Beneath the eye-catching macro data, the overseas market operational model of Chinese automobiles is also quietly changing. In May, SAIC MG, which has already accumulated sales of over 1 million units in the European market, deployed its direct sales system in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, taking another "big step" in the development of the overseas market for Chinese automobiles.
Regarding this all-new initiative, SAIC Group did not disclose it on a large scale to the outside. I discovered the cause of this new trend was June 15, at the "2026 China Enterprise Global Influence Dialogue" ceremony hosted by Jiemian Finance Lianshe under the guidance of Shanghai United Media Group, where it won two major awards at once: "Top 100 China Enterprises Global Influence" and "Top 10 Automotive Vehicle Industry", and thus brought out some slight information about the all-new initiative.
From an overall perspective, the "hard power" of SAIC Group winning two awards at once is evident: In May, SAIC's overseas sales volume reached 130,000 units. Cumulative overseas sales from January to May were 589,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 45.9%. At the same time, the "Global Layout + Local Deep Cultivation" global market integration strategy newly launched by SAIC is also promoting "Technology Going Global, Value Chain Going Global, and Eco-Creation Together".
As written in the theme song lyrics of the TV series "The Protagonist": When the sky is dark, the moon shines brighter. There are too many highlights in SAIC Group's overseas strategy. So why did I single out the "Direct Sales System" of SAIC MG among so many highlights?
Observing from a macro perspective, the overseas layout of Chinese automobile enterprises is mainly divided into two major sectors: manufacturing and sales. Among them, the manufacturing sector includes brands such as SAIC Group, Chery, BYD, Great Wall, Geely, Changan, Xpeng, and Dongfeng Mengshi/Voyah, which have all laid out in many countries and regions overseas. There are wholly-owned production factories as well as more KD factories.
On the sales side, the vast majority of Chinese automakers adopt a "Dealer-led" and "Joint Venture Cooperation" model. This dealer system was also gradually formed after the SAIC Group, which developed the overseas market earliest, connected the "Ren and Du meridians". The prominent advantage lies in fast landing and higher market development efficiency.
After that, some new Chinese car brands began to attempt to adopt a "Dealer-led, Direct Sales-assisted" operational model in high-regulation regions in Europe. This includes brands like Zeekr, Xpeng, and NIO. In the domestic market, they are mainly direct sales models with dealerships as a supplement, while in the overseas market, they go against the trend.
Compared with the dealership model, the direct sales model is obviously higher in cost and risk, but "without middlemen", not only does the local consumer benefit more, but the speed of new product landing is faster, and the feedback efficiency of local consumer needs is also higher.
So compared to the dealership model, the "High Risk, High Return" self-operated model must have a sufficient market foundation to unfold in a "systematized" manner. Therefore, the systematized self-operated model of SAIC MG in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland is also a brand new attempt made by Chinese automobiles moving steadily in the overseas market.
SAIC MG is not only the first Chinese automobile brand to achieve cumulative sales of 1 million in Europe, but also the first brand to attempt "systematized self-operation" in high-regulation regions in Europe by Chinese automobiles. Its confidence comes from the foundation of SAIC's deep cultivation in the European market: From January to May this year, cumulative sales of SAIC MG in Europe exceeded 150,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 20%, continuing to maintain the sales championship of Chinese automobile brands in Europe. Among them, MG in the UK market not only retained the Chinese brand championship, but total sales also remained stable in the top six of global automobile brands.
In other national and regional markets, SAIC MG also performed remarkably. For example, during the Thailand Bangkok International Motor Show, MG won 10,537 orders, surpassing Japanese brands such as Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, and Nissan that previously dominated the Southeast Asian market leaderboards. In Australia and New Zealand, MG3 and MG4 achieved market shares of 21.1% and 12.8% respectively in their sub-segments, ranking first and third respectively. In Chile, MG ZS is the sales champion of the local SUV market...
Not only that, besides SAIC MG, SAIC IM, SAIC Maxus, SAIC-GM-Wuling and other brands have global layouts in the two major fields of commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. For the time being, the brands under the SAIC Group have achieved full coverage of five continents. At the same time, multiple brands are advancing side by side, with richer product combinations and operational capabilities closer to local needs to achieve new system upgrades. For SAIC Group, which has been the first to realize cumulative sales exceeding 100 million for Chinese automobile enterprises, globalization not only means the "bigger" sales volume, but also needs to achieve true "stronger" development, and take the front seat in the fierce competition of global brands!
Author: Liu Jungang
