Chery

Company Overview

Chery Automobile (stock code: 9973.HK) was established on January 8, 1997. Its headquarters are located in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, and Yin Tongyue serves as Chairman. The company is an autonomous brand automobile manufacturer that integrates the research, development, pilot production, and sales of passenger cars, powertrains, and key components. It is China's largest passenger car exporter.

Chery Holding Group was established in 2010 and adopted its current name in 2017. Its registered capital is 5.82 billion RMB. Centered on the automobile industry, its business covers vehicle manufacturing, parts R&D, financial investment, and real estate development management. In 2025, Chery Holding Group ranked 233rd on the Fortune Global 500 list, with revenue of $59.69 billion, jumping up 152 positions compared to the previous year and becoming one of the fastest-growing car companies globally. In March 2026, Chery Automobile's production and sales volume remained at the forefront of autonomous brands.

Development History

Founding and Start-up Period (1995–2000): 

Chery's story began in 1995 when Wuhu City, Anhui Province launched its automobile project. The following year, Yin Tongyue, who had just resigned from his positions as Director of the Assembly Workshop and Head of the Logistics Section at FAW, joined and made a solemn vow: "If it fails, I will jump into the Yangtze River." On March 18, 1997, construction broke ground on a "small grass hut" on the site of an abandoned brick and tile factory in the north of Wuhu City, opening the prelude to construction.

Breakthrough and Growth Period (2001–2020):

In 1999, Chery's first passenger car, the "Fengyun," rolled off the assembly line. With a friendly price of less than 100,000 RMB, it tore a gap in a market dominated by joint-venture brands. Due to a lack of passenger car production qualifications in the early years, Chery transferred 20% of its equity to SAIC in 2001 to obtain production and sales qualifications under the name "SAIC-Chery" and was included in the national automotive production catalog that same year. In 2000, Chery's first batch of cars entered the taxi market, with a production capacity of 2,000 vehicles. The following year, the company's global journey officially began—the first batch of 10 Fengyun sedans drove toward Syria, becoming the first spark of Chery's exports. In 2003, the first new energy vehicle independently developed by Chery rolled off the line. In 2007, as the Chery QQ became a blockbuster, the company topped the autonomous brand sales list with annual sales of 381,000 vehicles. Afterwards, Chery's multi-brand strategy dispersed resources, leading to temporary difficulties, but it never gave up on independent R&D, continuously making strategic adjustments and technological breakthroughs.

Strategic Transformation Period (2021–Present): 

Facing profound changes in the automobile industry, Chery officially released its "Yaoguang 2025" forward-looking technology strategy in 2022, investing over 100 billion RMB in R&D, building 300 Yaoguang laboratories, and cultivating over 20,000 R&D talents. It accelerated its layout in the fields of new energy and intelligence, comprehensively promoted the implementation of a full-brand vehicle lifetime warranty policy, and deeply cooperated with top enterprises such as Huawei, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, and DeepSeek.

2025 was a milestone year for Chery, achieving major breakthroughs. The company sold nearly 2.81 million vehicles in total throughout the year. New energy vehicle sales surpassed 900,000 for the first time, and exports ranked first among Chinese passenger car brands. On September 25, Chery Automobile successfully listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 9973.HK), with a fundraising scale of 9.14 billion HKD, becoming the largest automotive IPO on the Hong Kong stock market since 2025. After a long listing journey of 21 years, Chery finally opened the doors of the capital market, officially entering the "post-listing era."

Entering 2026, Chery adhered to the strategic policy of "re-emphasizing business quality," insisting on high-quality development and a parallel layout of power technologies. In March, the company's single-month exports approached 150,000 vehicles, setting a new record for Chinese brands in single-month exports. At the April Beijing Auto Show, Chery Group unveiled six brands collectively: Chery, Exeed, Jetour, Zhengheng, iCAR, and Luxeed, displaying 57 models and 31 cutting-edge technology exhibits, demonstrating its determination and strength to transform from a traditional automobile manufacturer into a "Global AI Technology Company." Group founder and Chairman Yin Tongyue proposed a new management philosophy here: "Quality is more important than sales volume, innovation is more important than profitability, and partners are more important than Chery itself," anchoring a clear direction and value benchmark for Chery's future development.

Product Portfolio

Chery Holding Group has built a full-scenario, three-dimensional brand matrix covering the mass market to high-end, fuel to new energy, and passenger to commercial use. The core brands under the group include the Chery main brand, Exeed, Jetour, iCAR, Zhengheng, Luxeed, and others, forming a pattern of clear differentiated positioning, synergistic complementarity, and mutual support.

Chery: This is the group's foundational base and core competitiveness engine. It owns four product sequences: Tiggo (SUV), Arrizo (sedan), Fengyun (new energy), and QQ (pure electric compact car), covering the fuel, hybrid, extended-range, and pure electric power tracks, meeting the diverse mobility needs of different global regions and user groups. In 2025, sales volume reached 1.7009 million vehicles. The Chery brand supports the full-series matrix with a foundation as solid as a rock.

Exeed: This is Chery's strategic force in the high-end market. In 2025, sales volume reached 120,400 vehicles. In 2026, Exeed, with the theme "Performance Luxury, Passionate Dreams," unveiled eight heavy-hitting models, including the X-CONCEPT concept car, ES7 GT, EX9, and EX7, fully entering the brand 3.0 era, benchmarking joint-venture brands upward with extreme performance and luxury configurations.

Jetour: Positioned as a "Travel Lifestyle Service Provider," Jetour has transformed completely from a single "Automobile Product Manufacturer" into a lifestyle brand covering all-scenario travel needs. In 2025, sales volume reached 622,600 vehicles. At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, the Traveler PLUS fuel version and C-DM hybrid version were launched simultaneously, while multiple new cars, such as the Traveler 8 and Freedom 7 PLUS, premiered, accurately meeting the growing travel and mobility needs of consumers today.

iCAUR: This brand focuses on the intelligence and youth market, with 2025 sales volume of 97,000 vehicles. In 2026, its strategic focus shifts to "High-level Technology" deep cultivation. The ROBOX concept car premiered globally, incorporating humanoid robot design concepts to create a new product category. The V23 White Warrior version focuses on the personalized customization market, accurately meeting the diverse needs of young users.

Zhengheng: This is a new luxury electric-hybrid off-road brand newly created by Chery, filling the gap in the group's high-end off-road market. At its first participation in the Beijing Auto Show, it launched three heavy-hitting models: the G700 all-terrain luxury off-road SUV, the G900 super-luxury amphibious electric-hybrid off-road SUV, and the F700 all-terrain luxury electric-hybrid off-road pickup truck, demonstrating Chery's strong determination to expand into niche high-end markets.

Luxeed: Jointly created by Chery and Huawei, this brand focuses on the intelligent electric high-end sedan field. In 2025, sales volume reached 90,500 vehicles, delivering over 10,000 units for three consecutive months. Displaying multiple intelligent electric vehicle models at the Beijing Auto Show, it further perfected Chery's key technology layout in the high-end intelligent driving track.

Market Performance

2025 was a harvest year for Chery, achieving multidimensional breakthroughs. Chery Automobile achieved total revenue of 300.29 billion RMB for the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%, surpassing the 300 billion RMB threshold for the first time. Net profit was 19.51 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%, with net profit margin rising from 5.3% to 6.5%, significantly enhancing profitability. Annual autonomous passenger car sales reached 2.6314 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%, of which new energy autonomous passenger car sales were 826,500 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 72.5%. New energy vehicle revenue was 98.023 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 66.3%, with its share of total revenue rising from 21.9% to 32.6%. Since November, Chery New Energy wholesale sales have forcefully joined the top three in the Chinese new energy vehicle industry.

Globalization is the core engine driving Chery's performance leap. In 2025, the company exported 1.2944 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 33.2%, accounting for 49.2% of total annual sales, ranking first in Chinese brand passenger car exports for 23 consecutive years, with cumulative exports surpassing 5.85 million vehicles. Overseas revenue reached 157.42 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 56%, with its share of total revenue surpassing 50% for the first time, reaching 52.4%, making Chery one of the few domestic automobile companies whose overseas business scale exceeds its domestic market.

Entering 2026, the global automobile industry faces overall pressure, with domestic market passenger car sales in the first quarter down over 20% year-on-year, and new energy penetration rate temporarily falling back to 42%. Against this background, Chery showed strong operational resilience: first-quarter gross profit was approximately 10.564 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 24.9%, with gross margin significantly improved, and the globalized revenue structure effectively smoothed out structural fluctuations in the domestic market. From the perspective of operating composition, revenue in the first quarter decreased slightly by 3.45% year-on-year, but net profit attributable to the parent company remained at a steady level of 4.17 billion RMB. Internal profit was 4.322 billion RMB, a slight decline mainly due to factors such as increased sales and distribution expenses and R&D expenses. The group sold a total of 601,700 vehicles in the first quarter, of which 393,300 were exported overseas, a year-on-year increase of 53.9%, with the export proportion reaching 65.4%. Globalization has become Chery's core stabilizer for weathering the domestic industry shock cycle. As of early 2026, Chery's global cumulative users have surpassed 18 million, and its business reach covers over 130 countries and regions.

Core Technology

As a representative of "technology-based enterprise" in China's automobile industry, Chery takes independent R&D as the foundation for its survival and development. In 2025, the company's R&D investment surged to 14.715 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 39.6%, far higher than the revenue growth rate. Entering 2026, R&D investment in the first quarter reached 2.85 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 25.5%. The company explicitly stated that it strives to reach an R&D proportion of 4.7%–4.8% that year, continuously increasing investment in core "root technologies" such as electrification and intelligence.

The "Yaoguang 2025" strategy is Chery's main channel for future technology, focusing on the Mars Architecture, Kunpeng Power, Linxi Smart Cockpit, Falcon Smart Driving, and Galaxy Ecosystem. As of now, it has reserved over 400 core technology assets. At the 2025 Global Innovation Conference, Chery centrally displayed more than a dozen globally leading technologies, such as the Mars Architecture Ark Amphibious System, the Kunpeng Sky Engine with 48% thermal efficiency, the Flying Fish Chassis EMB, the Falcon Smart Driving Large Model, and the Lingxiao Flying Platform, building a world-class technology barrier.

In the powertrain field, the Kunpeng Sky Engine refreshed the global mass-produced gasoline engine thermal efficiency record with a revolutionary 48.57% thermal efficiency. The hybrid-dedicated engine adopts "Double Curve Three-Linkage" technology, achieving an ultra-high expansion ratio of 26:1, laying a solid foundation for hybrid cars to enter the "1-liter fuel economy era." In the new energy "three-electric" field, Chery has completed its layout for all technical routes, including pure electric, hybrid, extended-range, and hydrogen energy. The Rhinoceros S all-solid-state battery passed multidimensional extreme tests such as "needle prick and electric drill," realizing the safety commitment of "no fire, no explosion," planning to launch the first batch of vehicle-mounted verification in 2027, with the mass production landing of the all-solid-state battery route gradually approaching reality.

In the intelligence field, the Linxi Smart Cockpit 3.0 is equipped with a 13B parameter edge-side large model, achieving 0.8-second ultra-fast voice wake-up and 98.5% instruction recognition accuracy, making car-machine interaction truly immersive and seamless. The Falcon Smart Driving Large Model partners with Horizon Robotics and other ecosystem partners, covering Level 2+ to Level 4 full-scenario intelligent driving capabilities, with an automatic parking success rate of up to 99%, and the Level 4 model created a 100,000-hour zero-takeover record. At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, core technology results such as the Falcon Drive Assistance 900 Robocar were displayed. At the 2025 Global Innovation Conference, the breakthrough of the Ark Amphibious System was particularly striking—the Zhengheng G700, as the world's first new energy mass-produced off-road vehicle, successfully crossed the Yangtze River, with core components reaching the IP68 waterproof standard and a wading depth of up to 970 mm, creating a new milestone in the history of global off-roading and fully demonstrating Chery's deep accumulation in hardcore off-road technology. Meanwhile, Chery continues to increase its investment in the intelligence ecosystem, formally signing a strategic cooperation agreement with Qualcomm to carry out deep linkage in intelligent cockpit, intelligent driving, and cockpit-drive integration, relying on Snapdragon Digital Chassis technology to jointly explore the practical application of edge-side large models in automobile scenarios, further solidifying the landing foundation of "All-Scenario AI Technology."

In September 2025, Chery won the highest honor in the Chinese quality field—the China Quality Award Nomination Award. In J.D. Power's 2025 China New Car Quality Study, Sales Service Satisfaction, After-sales Service Satisfaction, and other core evaluation rankings, Chery ranked first among autonomous brands. As of the reporting period, the company has 60 models that have obtained global five-star safety evaluations and has accumulated 12 wins of the "China Heart" Annual Top Ten Engines and Hybrid Systems Awards, ranking first in the Ningguo, Anhui Province invention patent ranking list for 12 consecutive years.

Outlook

Chery deeply practices the globalization concept of "In somewhere, for somewhere, be somewhere," promoting design, R&D, manufacturing, and sales to take deep root locally. The joint venture project established with Spain's EBRO has been praised as a model of China-Europe cooperation. Currently, its business covers over 130 countries and regions, with a layout of eight global R&D centers and 16 KD factories. It is the first Chinese brand to achieve localized production in Europe, with local employees accounting for over 85% of the workforce. Especially in the European market, sales in the first quarter reached 77,000 vehicles in the UK and EU, a year-on-year increase as high as 241%, while new energy models surged 729% year-on-year—one out of every five new energy vehicles exported by Chery is sold to Europe.

Looking forward, Chery has explicitly set its "15th Five-Year Plan" outlook goals: By 2037 (the 40th anniversary of the company's establishment), achieve self-operational carbon neutrality, and by 2047 achieve full value chain carbon neutrality. At the same time, the company released its first ESG report, systematically planning a green development path from operation to ecosystem. It is actively promoting breakthroughs in R&D in many forward-looking fields, covering core areas such as the mass production landing of solid-state batteries, all-scenario AI empowerment, and next-generation ultra-low-power electric drive systems.

Looking to the future, Chery will continue to adhere to the fundamental policy of "technology-based enterprise," firmly moving forward along the three value main lines of quality, innovation, and partnership. It will provide higher quality, safer, and more intelligent mobility products and solutions for the global market, continuously consolidating its competitive position in the global automobile industry landscape, and constantly moving toward becoming a world-class, globalized, sustainable, intelligent technology mobility enterprise.