China's auto exports in 2026 are still surging ahead. Monthly exports broke the 1 million mark for the first time, with cumulative exports in the first half exceeding 5.3 million vehicles, a year-on-year growth rate of over 50%. The position of the world's top export nation is becoming increasingly secure.

Behind the dazzling growth figures, a discussion about "when exports will peak" is quietly heating up within the industry chain.

Gu Huai (all names in this article are pseudonyms), who just returned from touring overseas markets, is an insider at a Chinese Tier 1 supplier that began its overseas layout relatively early. In his view, the node for export ceilings is likely to occur in 2029, corresponding to a peak scale of about 12 million vehicles.

This is not just one company's opinion. At a salon event held recently by the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute, several industry insiders from the automotive industry chain converged on the peak window pointing to 2028-2030. As for the peak scale, industry predictions range from 12 million to 15 million vehicles. The core of the disagreement lies in the timing of tightening trade barriers and the speed of overseas capacity implementation.

Image source: Leapmotor

Growth still surging, peak zone emerging

If we rewind time to two years ago, industry predictions on the export peak were earlier.

The logic back then was very clear: overseas factories of leading automakers would concentrate production in 2025-2026, whole vehicle exports would be quickly replaced by localized capacity, and the growth curve would flatten quickly. However, the endurance of exports far exceeded industry expectations. The "ceiling" considered at that time to be about to be touched has now been overturned by actual data that broke through continuously.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs organized by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's passenger vehicle exports in January-June 2026 reached 5.307 million vehicles, with year-on-year growth of 52.8%. The export volume for January-July counted by the China Passenger Car Association has reached 6.4 million units, with year-on-year growth of 54%. Extrapolating based on the current pace, breaking through 10 million vehicles for the whole year is almost without suspense.

In front of these scalding data figures, the industry also has more realistic judgments on the point when exports will hit the peak.

Chen Mo, an insider at a global cabin electronics Tier 1 supplier, frankly admitted, "Previously we judged that this year or next year would be the export peak, after all overseas factories have successively started localized production. But now looking at it, this time node needs to be pushed back."

In his view, the resilience of exports comes from a diversified market layout. Leading domestic automakers are expanding simultaneously in Southeast Asia, South America, and Europe. The growth rhythms of different regions are staggered, supporting the overall export scale. "In the future, it won't surge like before, but is likely to remain stable, possibly even a slight decline, with no cliff-like drop."

Similar judgments are not uncommon within the industry chain, just that different enterprises have different observation dimensions.

Jiang Yu, an insider at a domestic automotive semiconductor manufacturer, believes that exports will continue to grow in two to three years, until exports touch around 15 million vehicles, will encounter the true bottleneck. This means China's share of the global automotive market will climb to a higher level, necessarily triggering more intensive trade protection measures.

Lu Ming, head of overseas business at a leading domestic automotive interior and exterior enterprise, values the rhythm of the capacity cycle more. In his observation, Chinese automakers' overseas capacity will be gradually implemented and released in 2027, 2028. Exports won't brake immediately, rather, it will continue to walk along with the capacity ramp-up. The true balance state between exports and overseas capacity will likely appear between 2028 and 2029.

Zhou Yan, head of overseas business at a global automotive parts giant, provided more granular inflection point judgments from observing the supply chain frontlines: Looking at different metrics, pure CBU vehicle exports will likely welcome a scale inflection point in 2028, with export volume seeing a substantive decline. If KD kits are included in the full statistics, data fluctuations will be relatively flat, but the downward trend of pure vehicle exports is quite clear.

Tian Tao, an analyst at a consulting institution in the automotive industry, stated that geopolitics, tariff policies, and localized capacity superimpose three factors, and the export ceiling will likely fall around 2030.

Image source: Chery

Of course, all these industry insiders emphasize: export ceiling does not equal the overseas sales peak of Chinese automakers.

Su Wan, head of overseas business expansion for intelligent cabins at a parts enterprise, said very clearly, "The momentum of exports rushing towards 10 million vehicles this year is indeed astonishing, and in the next few years, export volume will likely enter a bottleneck period, stabilizing growth and no longer skyrocketing. But if sales from localized production are included, the overall scale will still steadily rise. Exports have an upper limit, but the globalization of Chinese automakers has no upper limit. This is not the same thing at all."

Zhao Kai, head of enterprise development at a German automotive parts supplier, also confirmed this from industrial logic. In his view, new energy vehicles becoming the export main force itself extends the growth cycle. The battery technology iteration behind electric vehicles formed a synergy with national energy storage strategies, making China's automotive industrial advantages more solid than in the fuel vehicle era, and the resilience of export growth also far exceeds initial industry expectations.

Barriers and Capacity, Two Major Reality Constraints

Although the momentum of growth is fierce, no one believes exports will always rise. Two ceilings hanging above exports are slowly pressing down. One is the trade policy barrier being built higher and higher, the other is the localized capacity replacement proactively pushed by automakers.

Europe is the market that felt the chill first.

EU anti-subsidy tariffs targeting Chinese pure electric vehicles have taken effect. Multiple domestic automakers apply to different additional tax rates. After adding basic tariffs, comprehensive tariff costs for some brands have risen significantly, valid for as long as several years. This is just the first gate, and more systematic rule reshaping is on the way.

Lin Zhou, an insider at a Spanish-backed joint venture parts enterprise, revealed that the 'Industrial Accelerator Act' the EU is pushing is currently still in the legislative draft stage. According to general extrapolations by industry institutions, the bill is expected to complete legislation in 2027. Constraint clauses related to automobiles will land successively after the bill takes effect, and the overall time window is concentrated in 2027-2028. Final progress still depends on negotiation progress between the European Parliament and Council.

The core logic of the bill is very straightforward: through localized content requirements, public procurement restrictions, investment review means, it aims to protect and support the European local automotive industry.

"2026 is a key node," Lin Zhou added. The head new energy brand's Hungary factory officially operated this year, but carbon emission qualification accounting will land in 2027. The EU will introduce third-party audit agencies to check 2026 data and calculate final carbon emission indicators. And this indicator is tightening year by year; if standards are not met, additional tariffs must be levied. Besides the EU-level unified bill, individual member states are also issuing local policies, explicitly and implicitly guiding Chinese automakers to invest and build factories locally. Essentially, all are using rules to force localization.

Fang Cheng, an insider at a domestic automotive electronics enterprise, spoke even more directly: "We are not just going to earn Europeans' money, but also reconstructing the local industrial landscape. For European players guarding century-old industrial foundations, earning money can be tolerated, but having rice bowls snatched and tracks changed by latecomers equates to slapping in public. Resistance will only get more intense. Trade protection is not a question of whether it will come; it has already come, and it will increase more."

In his view, relying on high-speed growth of whole vehicle exports is naturally unsustainable, will soon touch the policy red line, and localization is the core path to break the situation.

More fundamental than policy barriers is the localization route chosen proactively by automakers. When export scale reaches a certain level, coupled with the rise of tariff costs, building factories locally for production became the inevitable choice.

Currently, overseas factories of leading automakers have already entered the concentrated production launch period.

BYD's Hungary Szeged factory will start whole vehicle assembly in the fourth quarter of 2026. Its Thailand Rayong, Brazil Camacari two factories have already achieved mass production, and capacity is still continuously ramping up. Chery's Spain Barcelona joint venture factory, Malaysia Intelligent Auto Industrial Park, and South Africa Rosslyn factory will all be put into production successively in 2027. SAIC MG's European production base located in Port Ferrol, Spain is planned to officially start operations at the end of 2028.

Image source: BYD

In the industry's view, whole vehicle exports were originally a transitional stage of overseas layout. Once the costs and efficiency of local factories are worked out, combined with the consideration of tariff and logistics costs, the priority of whole vehicle exports will naturally gradually decline.

Lu Ming's viewpoint also confirms this logic: The process of overseas capacity landing and release is the process of exports being gradually replaced. In the initial phase of capacity ramp-up, it may still need to export some parts or whole vehicles to supplement market gaps. After capacity is fully released, the incremental space for exports will be greatly compressed.

But this replacement is not a zero-sum game. Su Wan repeatedly emphasized: Exports and localized production are not a replacement relationship of mutual exclusion; it is a baton-passing progressive relationship. Exports are responsible for quickly opening markets and building brand awareness, localization is responsible for reducing costs and digging deep into user markets, both together expanding the overseas basic board of Chinese automakers.

Exports are not the destination, Going overseas heads to deep waters

When whole vehicle export growth gradually hits the top, China Auto's globalization layout will also synchronously enter the real deep waters.

As Jiang Yu said, when whole vehicle export scale approaches 15 million vehicles level, resistance for further growth will significantly increase. This is not a decline in Chinese automakers' competitiveness, but overseas localized capacity entering a concentrated release period, gradually replacing whole vehicle exports. On the surface, export number growth slows down, but Chinese automakers' global market share is still rising, it is just that the growth carrier has shifted from "whole vehicle exports" to "local manufacturing".

This is also the consensus of all industry chain personnel: The next stage of Chinese auto going overseas is shifting from "selling products" to "outputting industry". Going out with the vehicle factories is not just cars, but also the whole supply chain system.

Gu Huai's overseas survey confirms this trend. He summarized three mainstream models of current automakers going overseas: One is pure whole vehicle exports to fight the market; Two is cooperating with local factories to produce and reduce costs; Three is building factories and ecosystems solely like leading new energy brands. In the process of the three models blending promotion, parts, glass, chips, electronics systems and other supply chain links will also gradually complete localization along with them.

"At normal pace, around 2028, Chinese automakers' overseas industrial layout will be able to reach a relatively large scale. Not just selling cars over there, but moving the whole industrial ecosystem over there," Gu Huai said.

Tier 1 suppliers have already walked ahead. Multiple global parts enterprises are adjusting global capacity layouts, fully cooperating with the overseas rhythm of Chinese mainstream OEMs. Su Wan revealed that factories of the enterprise where he is located around the world are docking with Chinese automakers' overseas projects. Following the customer's factory building rhythm, synchronously landing capacity, from cabin systems to interior modules, are all rapidly promoting localization support capabilities.

The pace of local supply chain going overseas is also accelerating. Fang Cheng revealed that as a chip manufacturer, the company is planning to go overseas with the OEM, partner with domestic parts enterprises, and jointly achieve overseas localized production. "Automaker going overseas is never fighting alone; it must be the whole industry chain going out together to truly take root."

AI Generated Image; Source: Doubao

Of course, challenges are far more than imagined. Moving factories over does not guarantee localization success.

Shen Yan, an insider at an Italian enterprise, reminded that what Chinese brands forbid most is directly moving domestic tactics overseas. European market consumers' sensitivity to vehicle long-term value retention, brand reputation and terminal service is far higher than short-term price. If only relying on price wars, rapid model iteration, without valuing core user maintenance and service system construction, even if completing local factory building, it is also very difficult to truly stand firm in mature markets.

"2028 to 2030, export growth will gradually slow down, but won't immediately hit the ceiling. The real test has never been how much export volume rushes to, but whether China's new energy brands can truly stand in European mature markets," Shen Yan emphasized. Relying on B-side low price volume mode doesn't work in Europe; taking quality route and doing terminal service well is the key to long-term survival.

Zhou Yan suggested that there is no need to fix eyes only on Europe. South America, Africa and other regions' automotive consumption is still in rising period, trade environment is also more friendly, will be a new growth point continuously upwards. Dispersing market layout is itself the best way to hedge single market policy risks.

Zheng Ze, an insider at a German capital parts enterprise, then gave judgment from a more macro perspective: China Auto's product competitiveness is already strong enough. The one truly deciding ceiling height has never been the product itself, but national strategy and industrial discourse power. Whether can break trade barriers, strive for more fair market environment, is the core variable deciding China Auto globalization upper limit.

From a longer term industrial cycle perspective, the peak of China Auto exports is essentially a switch of growth mode. In the past few years, we relied on whole vehicle export's high growth to take the position of the world's top export nation. Next, we will through localization's deep layout, gradually strive for global automotive industry's discourse power.

Under the ceiling of export numbers is a wider globalization space.

(Note: All names in this article are pseudonyms, and some personally identifiable information has been blurred)

European Tyre Association (Tyres Europe) released sales data for member replacement tyres in the second quarter of 2026 and the first half of the year, as well as tyre import data for January to May. Association Secretary General Adam McCarthy stated: "Replacement tyre demand in Europe strengthened in the second quarter of 2026, especially for truck and passenger car tyres."

Overall Recovery of the EU Market

Passenger car tyre salesincreased by 3% compared to the second quarter of 2025, with cumulative sales in the first half of the year growing by 2%.

Among them,all-season tyres led the market again, with quarterly sales increasing by 15%, and 9% growth in the first half; summer tyre sales dropped by 2%, continuously losing market share to all-season tyres; winter tyre quarterly sales decreased slightly by 1%, and cumulative sales in the first half were still 5% lower than the same period last year.

Mileage driven decreased this quarter, reflecting a significant rise in average fuel prices and weakened consumer confidence due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. After a sharp decline in import volume in the first quarter, imports rebounded this quarter.

Truck and passenger car tyre sales grew by 13% in the second quarter, with cumulative growth of 7% in the first half. Despite geopolitical issues and high fuel and energy costs, freight activities and business confidence remained resilient. Truck tyre imports rose significantly in both the first and second quarters.

Agricultural tyre sales declined again, with a quarterly drop of 7%. However, this decline slowed significantly compared to the first quarter.Motorcycle and scooter tyre sales increased by 1% in the quarter, with cumulative growth of 4% in the first half.

China's Share of EU PCLT Imports Dropped Significantly

On July 7, 2026, the European Commission concluded its anti-dumping investigation into imports of Chinese PCLT tyres (passenger car and light truck tyres), determining that Chinese tyres entered the EU at dump prices and caused material injury to the EU tyre industry.

The European Commission imposed final duties of 4.3% to 45.3% on the products concerned, effective July 8, 2026, for a period of five years, with no retroactive effect.

Due to concerns about tariff retroactivity, importers hoarded inventory during the first three quarters of 2025 (when China accounted for 70% of EU imports).As inventory was drawn down, Chinese tyre imports in the first quarter of 2026 fell by 57%, with share dropping to 42%.Import volumes remained flat in April-May, with a cumulative share of 51% for January to May.

Import volumes from other sources increased by approximately 40% in both quarters, but failed to fully offset the decline from China. From January to May 2026, the EU 27 countries + UK region'sPCLT tyre import volume fell 6% year-on-year. Among them:

Chinese imports dropped by 24%, with share falling to 58% (72% in the same period of 2025), returning roughly to 2019 levels.

ASEAN suppliers filled the gap: share increased from 7.4% to almost 19.9%.Thailand led the growth, with imports rising from 2 million units to nearly 6 million, and Vietnam imports growing more than doubling to over 3 million units.

Cambodia increased from a near-zero base in 2025 to 2.3 million units, becoming a significant supply source; Indonesian import volumes also grew.Many tyres from ASEAN sources are produced in factories held by Chinese enterprises. The combined share of South Korea and Japan remained stable at 14.6%.

The UK was not bound by this tariff regime, and its share of tyres imported from China remained unchanged (approximately 75% in 2026), which boosted the overall share for the "EU 27 countries + UK" region.

TBR Tyre Imports, ASEAN Leads

In TBR (truck and bus) tyre imports,South Korea, Japan, and China lost out to Thailand and Vietnam.

In the first five months of 2026, TBR tyre imports from non-European markets into the EU 27 countries and UKincreased by nearly 27%, with growth rates similar in the first quarter and April-May.

Thailand and Vietnam currently account for nearly 61% of total imports, higher than the combined 57% in the same period last year, and far above the less than 30% in 2019. Within five months,imports from Thailand grew by 33%, and imports from Vietnam grew by 38%.

AlthoughChinese import volume increased by 9%, its share dropped from 19% in 2025 and 2019 to 16%, weakening its position.

Imports from India tripled,becoming the fourth-largest source, with a share of 6%. This overtook Egypt and South Korea – both of which saw a decline in import volume and a significant shrinkage in market share.

The concentration of European truck and passenger car tyre trade supplyis increasingly shifting towards the ASEAN region, a trend that is quite evident. Since 2019, this shift has largely come at the expense of more traditional tyre sources such as South Korea and Japan.

Overall, the latest data paints an industry picture being reshaped by trade policy: moderate recovery on the demand side, while the supply side experiences a drastic structural reshuffle – China's PCLT tyre market share in Europe dropped sharply from 72% to 58%, and ASEAN suppliers achieved a share leap that would have taken a decade in just three years.

Behind this reshuffle lies the "indirect rescue strategy" completed by Chinese tyre enterprises through overseas capacity layout. This is both a test of the globalization capability of the Chinese tyre industry and a report card on supply chain resilience.

According to Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute data, in the first half of 2026, China's passenger car and new energy passenger car exports continued to maintain a growth trend, and the global market layout was further optimized. Traditional passenger car exports showed regional differentiation characteristics, with Russia and Brazil maintaining the lead, and the European market consolidating its core status; new energy passenger car exports continued the high momentum, with Brazil leading the way, while European and Asia-Pacific markets became the main growth engines. With the evolution of global market demand and the deepening of localization layout by Chinese automakers, overseas exports are moving from scale expansion to a more diversified and refined development stage.

Top 10 Destination Countries for China's Passenger Car Exports (January-June 2026)

NO.1 Russia, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Russia were 432,698 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 154.2%.

NO.2 Brazil, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Brazil were 394,410 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 158.6%.

NO.3 United Kingdom, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to the United Kingdom were 251,290 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 91.4%.

NO.4 Belgium, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Belgium were 215,184 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 46.2%.

NO.5 Australia, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Australia were 211,965 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 84.2%.

NO.6 Mexico, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Mexico were 148,154 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year decline of 33.7%.

NO.7 Italy, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Italy were 146,769 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 141.9%.

NO.8 United Arab Emirates, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to the United Arab Emirates were 135,713 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year decline of 36.4%.

NO.9 Spain, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Spain were 115,264 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 55.0%.

NO.10 Malaysia, January-June 2026, exports of passenger cars to Malaysia were 103,745 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 38.7%.

According to Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute data, in the first half of 2026, the landscape of destination countries for China's passenger car exports adjusted further. Russia returned to the top export market with 432,698 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 154.2%, surpassing Brazil to take the top spot, showing that the strong demand for Chinese cars in the local market is being continuously released. Brazil ranked second with 394,410 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 158.6%. Driven by inventory buildup prior to the increase in complete vehicle import tariffs in July, it maintained high-speed growth in the first half, but with the implementation of policy adjustments, the subsequent export model may gradually transform towards KD (knock-down assembly) and local production.

From a regional distribution perspective, Europe remains the core growth pole for China's passenger car exports. The United Kingdom ranked third with 251,290 vehicles firmly, Belgium (215,184 vehicles), Italy (146,769 vehicles) and Spain (115,264 vehicles) all entered the top ten, of which Italy grew by 141.9% year-on-year, continuing the high-speed growth trend. However, the European market still faces challenges such as trade policies, anti-subsidy investigations, and intensified local competition. Future growth will rely more on brand power and local operation capabilities.

Latin American market differentiation intensified further. Brazil continued to maintain strong growth, while Mexico's export volume was 148,154 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 33.7%, affected by tariff policy adjustments and tightening North American trade environment factors, market demand continues to be under pressure. The Middle East market also entered an adjustment phase, with United Arab Emirates exports of 135,713 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 36.4%, high-speed growth momentum slowed down somewhat. In contrast, Asia-Pacific market maintained steady expansion, with Australia ranking fifth with 211,965 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 84.2%, and Malaysia with 103,745 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 38.7% first broke through 100,000 vehicles, showing Southeast Asia and Oceania markets still have considerable growth potential.

Overall, in the first half of 2026, China's passenger car exports continued to maintain high growth, but growth momentum is shifting from single market driven to multi-regional coordinated development. With changes in global trade environment and continuous promotion of local policies in various countries, Chinese automakers' overseas competition is also gradually shifting from export scale competition to comprehensive competition in brand building, channel operations and local system capabilities.

Top 10 Destination Countries for China's "New Energy" Passenger Car Exports (January-June 2026)

NO.1 Brazil, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Brazil were 293,032 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 158.8%.

NO.2 Belgium, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Belgium were 207,174 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 45.3%.

NO.3 United Kingdom, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to the United Kingdom were 181,880 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 101.8%.

NO.4 Australia, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Australia were 154,305 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 199.7%.

NO.5 Germany, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Germany were 83,085 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 219.5%.

NO.6 Thailand, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Thailand were 80,914 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 84.0%.

NO.7 Italy, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Italy were 77,773 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 298.8%.

NO.8 South Korea, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to South Korea were 73,940 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 161.5%.

NO.9 Spain, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to Spain were 71,872 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 69.3%.

NO.10 United Arab Emirates, January-June 2026, exports of new energy passenger cars to the United Arab Emirates were 59,739 vehicles, cumulative year-on-year growth of 34.7%.

According to Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute data, in the first half of 2026, China's new energy passenger car exports continued to maintain high growth, and the landscape of destination countries further concentrated on European and Asia-Pacific markets. Brazil ranked first with 293,032 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 158.8%, new energy models have become the absolute main force for Chinese car exports to the Brazilian market. Belgium and the United Kingdom ranked second and third with 207,174 vehicles and 181,880 vehicles respectively, exports to the United Kingdom exceeded 180,000 vehicles for the first time, year-on-year growth of 101.8%, while Belgium continued to play an important role as a European logistics and transshipment hub.

From a regional distribution perspective, the European market remains the core growth engine for China's new energy passenger car exports. Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain entered the top ten, of which Germany grew by 219.5% year-on-year, Italy grew by 298.8%, and the United Kingdom also achieved double-digit growth, reflecting that Chinese new energy vehicles are continuously improving competitiveness in mainstream European markets. At the same time, European market competition will gradually shift from product introduction stage to comprehensive competition in brand, channel and local operation capabilities.

Asia-Pacific market continued rapid expansion. Australia ranked fourth with 154,305 vehicles, a year-on-year growth of 199.7%, becoming the largest new energy export market outside Europe; Thailand and South Korea exported 80,914 vehicles and 73,940 vehicles respectively, year-on-year growth of 84.0% and 161.5%, showing that Chinese new energy vehicles' penetration rate in Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian markets continues to improve. In the Middle East market, United Arab Emirates exported 59,739 vehicles, year-on-year growth of 34.7%, maintaining steady growth, but growth rate slowed somewhat compared to before.

Overall, in the first half of 2026, China's new energy passenger car exports continued to maintain high momentum, and market coverage extended from emerging economies to traditional automotive powerhouses. With continuous improvement of product competitiveness and global channels, local systems continuously improving, Chinese new energy vehicles are accelerating from scale expansion to high-quality globalization development.

Recently, South Korean automaker KG Mobility (KGM) announced a strategic investment agreement with Chery Automobile. According to the agreement, Chery will invest 75 million US dollars into KGM and carry out or expand cooperation in areas such as accelerating new vehicle development, autonomous driving, and advanced electronic and electrical architecture.

If the transaction is completed and all bonds are converted to equity, Chery is expected to hold approximately 10% of KGM's shares and is expected to become its second-largest shareholder.

Chery's partnership with a South Korean automaker this time easily brings to mind the recent cooperation between Geely and Ford. Geely acquired 34% equity in the joint venture for 221 million euros and shares Ford's factory resources located in Valencia, Spain.

On the surface, in both collaborations, Chinese enterprises did not obtain absolute controlling equity, nor did they directly control daily operation management, but this precisely embodies the strategic wisdom of China's deep cultivation in the global market.

In the past, Chinese automakers going global relied more on product exports; however, nowadays, with changing competitive environments, Chinese automobiles are moving from pure "product output" to "global operation" covering technology, supply chain, manufacturing capabilities, brand value, and industrial ecosystems. For Chinese automakers, carrying out deep cooperation with local enterprises can faster utilize existing manufacturing, channels, and industrial resources to enter overseas markets with lower cost thresholds and achieve long-term rooting.

Currently, the globalization of Chinese automakers is entering a brand new stage. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China's auto exports reached 5.31 million units in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 53%, achieving continuous growth for 5 years. At the same time, consulting firms predict that China's auto export volume in 2026 will approach 10 million units, and China is expected to become the first country in the world to break through the 10 million unit auto export scale.

However, it needs to be seen that export volume growth does not equal the formation of globalization capabilities. For Chinese automakers, going global still faces multiple challenges such as trade barriers, policy differences, local operations, and brand awareness. How to move from "selling out" to "staying in" is the proposition that must be answered in the next stage.

True globalization still requires automakers to answer three core questions: Why are locals willing to accept the enterprise staying? Why are partners willing to walk alongside the enterprise for the long term? Can the enterprise achieve sustainable profitability locally?

These three questions correspond to industrial value, cooperation value, and commercial value respectively. Only when the three form a closed loop does going global become not just a short-term sales growth, but a long-term business capable of crossing cycles and continuously creating value.

"Behind the 'Global Expansion Fever', Chinese Automakers Still Need to Find Long-term Growth Solutions"

In recent years, "going global" has become a mandatory course that Chinese automakers cannot bypass. Besides Chery, enterprises such as Geely, Changan, Leapmotor, and Xpeng are also accelerating the promotion of global layout.

On the surface, this is a natural spillover after the improvement of Chinese automobile technology, product strength, and complete industrial chain capabilities; but from a more realistic perspective, it is also a strategic choice forced by market competition.

In the past few years, China's new energy vehicle market grew rapidly, with new brands, new models, and a large amount of capacity flooding in, and market competition gradually moved from incremental competition to stock game phase. Against the backdrop of domestic market "involution to death", many automakers face the dilemma of "increasing revenue but not profit". Therefore, the overseas market has become an important direction for enterprises to digest capacity, expand scale, and improve profit space.

However, when more and more enterprises regard going global as the answer for growth, a new question also appears: Will the overseas market become the next competitive red sea?

From the demand side, the global new energy vehicle market indeed still exists a large growth space. In the first half of 2026, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in the European market were about 2.378 million units, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%, penetration rate reached 29.2%, an increase of about 6 percentage points compared to the same period last year, accounting for 20.3% of global new energy vehicle sales. At the same time, new energy sales in emerging markets such as India and the Philippines also grew rapidly, among which India increased by 83.8% year-on-year, and the Philippines increased by 149.6% year-on-year.

However, it needs to be seen that different countries exist huge differences in consumption habits, regulatory standards, infrastructure, channel systems, and brand awareness, etc. The overseas market is not simply copying the Chinese market's "second battlefield", nor is it as simple as moving domestic mature models overseas for sales.

In fact, the export growth in the first half of this year not only comes from the improvement of the competitiveness of Chinese automakers themselves, but is also affected by multiple factors such as changes in international energy prices and adjustment of the electrification rhythm of overseas traditional automakers. With more Chinese brands entering the overseas market, competition is also gradually upgrading, and the dividends of going global are also gradually decreasing.

If enterprises only rely on price advantages, short-term sales, and channel deployment for expansion, then Chinese automobiles overseas may also fall into the cycle of "low-price competition" and "scale involution".

"Overseas is not a 'Safe Haven', Chinese Automakers Welcome Higher Cost Battlefields"

As is well known, the selling price of many Chinese automobile brands in the overseas market is often higher than the domestic market. Taking Chery Tiggo 8 as an example, the market price in China is around 100,000 yuan, but after entering the Russian market, the starting price is converted to about 220,000 yuan RMB, and in some markets in the Middle East, the landed price of the top configuration model is even close to 400,000 yuan.

This also makes many people in the past believe: going global means "China production, overseas sales", utilizing China's mature supply chain system and cost advantages to obtain higher premiums in the overseas market. But in fact, as Chinese automakers' globalization enters the deep water zone, this simple sales model is facing more and more challenges.

Even, a higher overseas selling price does not necessarily mean higher overseas profits. And a series of factors such as tariff barriers, local production requirements, environmental policies, distribution networks, after-sales service, etc., will directly affect the enterprise's final profitability.

Especially against the background of intensified competition in the global automobile industry, the overseas market is raising entry barriers. For example, the EU "Industrial Accelerator Act" proposes to implement "conditional market access" for countries with global key industry manufacturing capacity share exceeding 40%; the EU "New Battery Act" stipulates that starting from February 2027, power batteries must provide full life cycle carbon footprint data.

At the same time, European local automakers are also strengthening defense. Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault and other European automotive enterprises have called for the EU to take more measures to protect the local electric vehicle industry; some European enterprises and unions also have concerns about cooperating with Chinese automakers, and even some overseas media described Chinese new energy vehicles as "Trojan horses".

It can be seen that Chinese automobile going global is experiencing a change in underlying logic, the past relied on product quality-price ratio, the future competes on system capabilities. Whoever can transform complex costs in global operations into brand, technology and industrial chain advantages, can truly realize the leap from "exporting products" to "global operations".

"Going Global is Not a Zero-Sum Game, But a Competitive Cooperation Game"

Chinese automakers' going global has never been standing on the opposite side of overseas enterprises.

Previously, Chairman Yin Tongyue of Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. pointed out: "Going to a (emerging) market is not just about pushing Chinese products out, must comply with local regulations, fit local user habits, at the same time we cannot keep all for themselves." He further emphasized that Chery going global is not to "grab" others' territory. "Do not be a plunderer, but be a fertilizer provider, increase fertility; do not go to their (place) to plunder markets, plunder talent."

Because true sustainable globalization is not about selling a car to the overseas market, but forming industrial connections locally, truly rooting in the local market.

Nowadays, the overseas layout methods of Chinese automakers have become more and more diversified, covering whole vehicle exports, CKD assembly, local production, dealer cooperation, technology licensing, platform output, capital cooperation, and joint operation and other models. And different models are essentially all for improving the enterprise's adaptability to the global market.

For example, SAIC-GM-Wuling planned production bases in Indonesia through the industrial chain synergy mode, built 120,000 units of whole vehicle capacity, while leading 16 domestic three-electric enterprises to go out together, and cultivated more than 100 local suppliers, achieving transition from product entry to industrial chain integration; Great Wall Motors through acquiring and transforming Brazil Daimler factory, officially started production in August 2025, created about 2,000 direct employment positions, and drove local supply chain system development; Chery and Spain EV MOTORS established a joint venture company, took over the Nissan closed Barcelona factory, with "Chery Technology + EBRO Brand" method to re-activate local manufacturing capability

In addition, Changan Thailand Rayong Factory welcomed the 20,000th whole vehicle off the line in June 2026, the factory total investment about 2.2 billion yuan, phase one annual capacity 100,000 units, key quality control workstation automation rate reached 90%; Geely relied on Proton brand deep plowing in Malaysia market, its Tanjung Malim electric vehicle factory has started production, phase one annual capacity reached 20,000 units.

It is worth noting that new power brands are also accelerating the output of technical systems and infrastructure capabilities. For example, Nio has deployed 93 battery swap stations overseas, and participated in research and formulation of Singapore electric vehicle charging and swapping standards "Singapore Standard SS 722"; Leapmotor, through establishing a joint venture company with Stellantis, promotes internationalization with the help of global channel resources, its main model C10 has also started local assembly production at Kulim Factory, Kedah, Malaysia; Xpeng not only has strategic cooperation with Volkswagen, but also acquired 90.1% equity of Indonesian listed company EIDO, planning its first overseas production base, and adopted CKD model to promote localized manufacturing.

From the perspective of industry insiders, different going global paths do not exist absolute superiority or inferiority, the key lies in whether it matches the enterprise's own capabilities and development stages. Whole vehicle export speed is fast, investment is relatively light, but easy to be affected by trade policy changes; local factory construction can enhance industrial integration, but needs continuous capital investment and scale support; channel cooperation can quickly open the market, but user relationships and brand assets may be constrained by partners; technology licensing and capital cooperation are lighter, but test whether the enterprise can transform technical advantages into long-term commercial value.

And judging whether an enterprise's going global is successful, cannot look only at export volume, how many countries and regions entered, or even cannot look only at overseas sales growth, but need to see whether it can answer several more core questions.

First, can it make money. Whether overseas business can form stable and sustainable profit-making ability, rather than relying on domestic market blood transfusion, financing support or short-term price advantages.

Secondly, can it take root. Whether it establishes local R&D, manufacturing, channel, service and supply chain systems, rather than staying at one-time product sales.

Thirdly, can it achieve win-win. Whether it can create employment, tax and industrial value for the locality, making government, partners, suppliers and consumers all become beneficiaries in the globalization process.

In addition, it also needs to see if the enterprise can resist risks. Facing tariff changes, policy adjustments, exchange rate fluctuations and geopolitical uncertainties, whether overseas business has sufficient resilience.

More importantly, whether the enterprise can build true brand value. What consumers buy, is it just a lower price Chinese automobile product, or recognize a global automobile brand that can exist for a long time and continuously provide value.

From the perspective of industry insiders, the highest standard of going global is not how much Chinese automakers took away from the overseas market, but how much value was left for the local while obtaining commercial returns. The overseas market does not reject Chinese automobiles, but no market will long-term welcome an "outsider" who only sells products, fights for share, but does not bear industrial responsibility and does not create local value.

Truly viable globalization is not a short-term surprise battle won relying on cost advantages, but finding the greatest common divisor of enterprise interests and local interests in different markets. Only from "entering overseas market" to "integrating into local industry", Chinese automobiles can truly complete the transformation from export powerhouse to important participant in the global automobile industry.

August 4, GAC Group released the July 2026 production and sales summary. Data shows, this July, GAC Group's monthly car production was 103,284 units, down 19.62% YoY; sales were 112,934 units, down 5.48% YoY; Jan-July cumulative production was 900,062 units, down 3.24% YoY; cumulative sales were 886,019 units, up 1.28% YoY.

The new energy segment remains the core driving force. In July, the group's new energy vehicle sales were 51,520 units, up 54.20% YoY; cumulative sales for the first 7 months reached 311,678 units, a YoY increase of 66.20%, with new energy penetration rate rising from about 28% last year to about 35%. Additionally, the combined proportion of fuel-saving and new energy vehicles has risen to 63.96%.

Image Source: GAC Group

Domestic Brand Growth Leads, Joint Venture Camp Shows Divergence

Domestic brands have become the main growth pole of GAC Group. Jan-July, GAC's domestic brand cumulative sales exceeded 400,000 units, up 33.31% YoY; July single-month sales exceeded 54,200 units, up 19.91% YoY.

GAC AION July sales were 28,807 units, up 36.37% YoY; Jan-July cumulative sales 210,386 units, up 62.08% YoY. AION Y series monthly sales maintained over 10,000 level; AION V series listed for two months cumulative deliveries broke 12,000 units, occupying 73.3% share in the 100,000-150,000 RMB class LIDAR smart driving pure electric SUV market. In July, AION officially released the new Ray series models, Hyper S600 also started deliveries simultaneously.

GAC Trumpchi July sales were 22,739 units, down 5.57% YoY, but Jan-July cumulative sales still reached 187,112 units, up 9.83% YoY. This month Trumpchi Wish S7 PHEV launched for sale, fifth-generation GS4 entered the market with starting price of 79,800 RMB.

The high-end smart electric brand Qijing Automotive co-created by GAC and Huawei Kunlun, first model GT7 listed at end of June, July started user delivery, first month sales 2,658 units. Nationwide over 90 cities have established nearly 300 stores, second model GX7 planned release within the year, product matrix gradually taking shape.

Regarding the joint venture sector, GAC Toyota July sales were 46,500 units, down 19.84% YoY; Jan-July cumulative sales 402,500 units, basically flat YoY. Camry, Highlander, Sienna three flagship models July combined sales 22,843 units, accounting for 49% of Toyota brand sales that month. Toyota bZ series new energy vehicles July sales 12,002 units, proportion over 25%, among which Toyota bZ 3X monthly sales 9,546 units, ranking at the forefront of joint venture NEV sales for consecutive months.

GAC Honda July sales were 11,686 units, down 27.11% YoY; Jan-July cumulative sales 80,004 units, down 53.13% YoY. In terms of residual value, Accord ranked first among joint venture mid-size sedans with 55.90% three-year residual value, Breeze ranked second among joint venture compact SUVs with 58.19% three-year residual value.

Worth mentioning, in July, GAC Honda cumulative sales broke 11 million units, both shareholders signed extension agreement extending cooperation period to 2038, and plan to launch 5 new cars in the next two years, including two localized new energy vehicles and iterative hybrid products.

Exports Up 130% YoY, Investment and Charging Ecology Advance Simultaneously

Export business continues high growth trend. July, GAC domestic brand export volume 23,575 units, up 119% YoY; Jan-July cumulative exports 145,000 units, YoY increase reached 130%, already exceeding total export volume of 2025 full year.

GAC GS8 rolled off production line at Kazakhstan production base; Image Source: GAC Group

Looking by region, July Americas market terminal sales up 139% YoY, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil markets sales all achieved multiple-fold growth, GAC simultaneously approved to join Brazil "Green Mobility and Innovation Plan". CIS region terminal sales up 112% YoY, global 7th KD factory put into production in Kazakhstan, GS8 model rolled off line. Asia-Pacific market terminal sales up 78% YoY, Thailand Rayong factory cumulative roll-off total vehicles over 10,000; Philippines multiple new cars completed introduction. Middle East and Africa region terminal sales up 51% YoY, July officially entered Morocco market, first batch launched three SUVs, covering fuel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid. Europe side, in Greece pure electric passenger car market, GAC market share increased to 7.7%, ranked second, multiple countries models in launch preparation phase.

As of now, GAC international business has covered 110 countries and regions globally, built 6 overseas production factories, 9 overseas parts warehouses and over 746 sales service outlets, planned to expand to 1000 outlets within the year.

At the industrial chain investment level, GAC Group continues layout around chips, autonomous driving, embodied intelligence, aerospace and other fields. July 27, GAC invested in 2021 domestic DRAM storage chip company CXMT listed on STAR Market, created A-share annual and STAR Market largest fundraising record. Same month, early invested SiC power device manufacturer Basic Semiconductor, autonomous driving company Momenta both listed on HKEX, navigation positioning chip manufacturer Herun Electronics ChiNext IPO accepted.

As of now, GAC has invested in including Horizon Robotics, Yixin Semiconductor, Pony.ai, WeRide, Qingtao Energy etc. over 140 enterprises, accumulated cultivating at least 48 invested enterprises successfully listed.

Charging infrastructure construction accelerating simultaneously. GAC "9 Vertical 10 Horizontal" charging network has covered 31 provinces 213 cities nationwide, achieved core urban area "straight 1 km must have station" density; self-operated charging piles over 27,000, among which supercharging piles broke 20,000. In addition, multiple charging pile products first obtained 3C certification, covering public fast charging, heavy truck charging, destination slow charging etc. scenarios.

According to plan, second half of this year GAC will launch Trumpchi first hard-core off-road SUV, AION new pure electric coupé, Qijing GX7 etc. multiple new models. Facing industry stock competition intensified and new energy penetration rate continuous climbing trend, GAC Group is simultaneously advancing "Stabilize Joint Venture, Strengthen Domestic Brand, Expand Ecology" three major tasks, with overseas expansion and industrial chain deep layout solidify mid-to-long term competitiveness foundation.

Domestic car market competition intensifies, automaker profit margins remain under pressure, expanding into overseas markets has shifted from an optional layout to the only path for survival and development. Latest industry data shows, in the first half of 2026, China's car exports saw explosive growth, both export volume and total export value hit new highs, but overseas trade barriers continue to increase, localized production has become the core solution for automakers to break through.

Export data continues to climb, overseas markets drive growth

According to relevant statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in June 2026, domestic car exports reached 1.04 million units, up 75% year-on-year, achieving single-month exports exceeding 1 million for the first time. Car cumulative exports for the first half reached 5.1 million units, up 65% year-on-year, half-year export volume broke through 5 million units for the first time; total value of vehicle exports exceeded 600 billion yuan. Now car exports account for 35% of total domestic sales. Compared to the thin domestic profits, overseas markets offer higher gross profit margins, many automakers rely on overseas profits to support domestic business to counteract profit pressures caused by intense domestic price competition.

Leading automakers race overseas, layout strategies diverge

In the first half of the year, the overseas sales tiers of major automakers were clear. Chery led with exports of 939,000 units, overseas sales accounted for 74% of total sales; BYD followed with 792,000 units, localized production in overseas factories can effectively increase profit per vehicle; SAIC and Geely ranked third and fourth respectively. Among them, Geely's new energy vehicle exports grew rapidly, new energy vehicles accounted for 60% of its total exports. Changan and Great Wall also maintained stable overseas output. Major automakers continue to ramp up overseas capacity construction, consolidating market share by building factories overseas to cope with the continuously changing overseas policy environment.

Overseas barriers continue to increase, scope of trade restrictions expands

Behind the outstanding export performance, external challenges follow in succession. The EU imposes anti-subsidy duties on Chinese electric vehicles, and plans to extend restrictions to plug-in hybrid models, while introducing relevant bills to raise investment thresholds for foreign capital. Brazil raised tariffs on imported electric vehicles, Thailand implements production capacity commitment policies, multiple rules significantly increase the cost of direct vehicle exports. The model relying solely on vehicle exports carries increasingly high risks.

Accelerating local factory construction, automakers seek paths to break through

Facing trade barriers, domestic automakers chose to accelerate overseas localized production, forming two development paths. Chery adopts a reverse joint venture model, leveraging local brands to obtain production qualifications and reduce market resistance; BYD chose to fully self-construct factories, fully controlling the supply chain and production links. Many enterprises rushed to acquire European factories during the window period to avoid policy restrictions.

China's car exports have entered a high-growth cycle, but long-term challenges remain ahead. The overseas market is both an incremental blue ocean and a competitive battleground. Major automakers continue to improve their overseas industrial layout, resolving trade barriers by relying on localized production. In the future, whoever can better root themselves in overseas markets and balance policy with operations is expected to seize more seats in the global car competition.

In the first half of 2026, the overseas export rankings of domestic automakers witnessed profound changes. If excluding Russia and Iran, these two special markets with geopolitical dividends, BYD's overseas sales have already surpassed Chery. This data also reflects the completely different globalization layout strategies of the two automakers.

BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu

Customs export data for the first half shows Chery's overall exports at 944,000 units, among which the Russia and Iran markets contributed a combined 283,000 units. Excluding these two markets, Chery's sales in global marketized regions totaled 661,000 units. Out of strategic considerations, BYD actively abandoned the Russia and Iran markets. On one hand, the geopolitical situation in these two areas is complex, operational stability is very poor, currency fluctuations and sanctions could bring operational risks at any time; more critically, to concentrate all resources on deepening the European mainstream market, avoiding chain reactions in Western public opinion caused by the layout in Russia and Iran which could affect the European layout, BYD chose to strategically exit these two regions. All of BYD's 789,400 unit exports came from fully marketized regions such as Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America, etc., and the total amount is already significantly leading Chery after excluding the dividend markets.

For many years, Chery relied on the market dividends of the Russian-speaking region and Iran, long staying at the first place in Chinese car exports. After Western European and American automakers actively withdrew, a huge vacuum appeared in the local fuel vehicle market, and Chery took stable sales through this. However, such markets are greatly affected by geopolitical situations, stability is insufficient, and do not have reference value for the global market. BYD actively gave up short-term dividends and persisted in deepening mainstream mature economies, making the growth more solid.

The European market has become BYD's most important growth engine. In the first half of 2026, BYD new registrations in Europe reached 162,400 units, compared to 70,500 units in the same period last year, with a year-on-year increase of up to 136%, achieving over doubling growth. Breaking it down, DM-i plug-in hybrid models were the largest incremental growth, surging 260% year-on-year, skillfully avoiding the pressure brought by the EU pure electric anti-subsidy measures; pure electric models climbed steadily, rising 78% year-on-year. Germany, Italy, Spain and other core Western European countries all achieved substantial growth, with no weak markets.

BYD's ability to continue rising relies on a complete system layout. Factories in Thailand and Brazil are continuously ramping up, and the Hungarian production base is about to go into production in the fourth quarter, which can avoid EU tariffs and further amplify the advantage in Europe. The independent Ro-Ro fleet is continuously expanding, thoroughly breaking free from the limitations of ocean shipping capacity, laying the foundation for continuous exports. Chery lacks overseas production bases, capacity is already close to the ceiling, superimposed with the Russia-Iran dividend markets showing top growth, subsequent growth will gradually slow down.

Based on the current growth rhythm, even if Russia and Iran sales are fully counted, BYD's total export volume at the end of this year has a high probability of surpassing Chery and taking the number one spot in annual Chinese car exports.

Short-term geopolitical dividends can support the rankings for a while, but cannot support long-term globalization. Looking only at mainstream markets with free competition, BYD has already surpassed, which also means that Chinese automakers going global have officially entered a new stage relying on product power to layout globally.

In 2021, Chinese automotive exports reached $34.5 billion. Five years later, in the first half of 2026 alone, this figure reached $91.8 billion, approaching the hundred-billion-dollar threshold.

From 34.5 billion to $91.8 billion in just half a year, the Chinese automotive industry has completed in five years what many nations accomplished over decades.

Automotive Exports Reshape China's Export DNA

Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that from January to June 2026, China's total merchandise export volume was $2.1258 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 17%. Among them, complete vehicle exports reached $91.8 billion, a significant year-on-year increase of 54%; the monthly export volume in June alone was $18.2 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate rising to 70%.

Source: Huaban Network

In terms of volume, China's automotive achievements remain eye-catching: Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that the first half saw automotive exports of 5.096 million units, a year-on-year increase of 65.3%. The half-year export volume broke the 5 million unit threshold for the first time in history. June's single-month export volume was 1.037 million units, a year-on-year increase of 75.1%, breaking the 1 million unit mark for a single month for the first time.

Overall export growth was 17%, while automotive export growth was 54%—behind the nearly three-fold "scissors difference" is a profound shift in China's export engine. Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, summarized this change as: "Automotive exports have performed extremely well in recent years, rising from $34.5 billion in 2021 to $117.4 billion in 2024, forming a trend of explosive growth." The full year of 2025 reached $142.4 billion. And in just the first half of 2026, $91.8 billion has been reached, making the annual breakthrough of $150 billion inevitable.

Source: Huaban Network

What truly reshapes the export landscape is not just the automotive category. Customs data shows that the first half saw lithium battery exports of $48.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 43%; solar cell exports of $32.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24%. The "New Three Items" combined exports increased by 51.6% year-on-year to $118.35 billion. Among the three, electric vehicles had the highest growth rate, with cumulative exports of $52.1 billion in the first half, an increase of 75.1% year-on-year. Relying on the first-mover advantage of new energy and intelligent innovation capabilities, Chinese automobiles have not only achieved a leap in export scale but, through deep integration with artificial intelligence, have become an important force driving global automotive R&D and design innovation.

From clothing and home appliances to automobiles, lithium batteries, and solar cells, China's export "main lineup" is being redefined. And automobiles are undoubtedly the absolute core of this new lineup.

Who Is Driving This "Rush"?

The numbers showing growth in both volume and value are only the first layer of the narrative. What is truly worth asking is: Where does this growth momentum come from?

The answer lies within the explosion of new energy vehicles.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that new energy vehicle exports reached 2.355 million units in the first half, a 1.2-fold increase year-on-year, accounting for over 46% of total automotive exports. In June alone, new energy vehicle exports were 523,000 units, a 1.6-fold increase year-on-year. Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated at the monthly information release that automotive exports in the first half were "better than expected and formed a stable support".

Specifically, the passenger car segment exports in June reached $14.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 84%, representing a 658% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Among these, new energy vehicles are the "main battle horse" pulling the passenger car export rush. New energy vehicle exports in the first half reached 2.355 million units, a 1.2-fold increase year-on-year, accounting for over 46% of total automotive exports. China's new energy vehicle industry chain, from mineral processing and battery manufacturing to complete vehicle integration, has formed the world's most complete and cost-competitive closed loop. If past Chinese automotive exports relied on cost-performance ratio, now it is about technological generation gap.

Many professionals judge thus: Chinese automotive exports are ushering in a critical leap from "scale expansion" to "value export", shifting from the past focus on cost-performance ratio to the trend of technological generation gap. China's new energy vehicle three-electric systems and intelligent supply chains possess stronger product competitiveness overseas.

Source: Geely Automobile

The differentiated pattern of the export market further confirms this trend. From January to May 2026, Brazil surpassed Russia to become China's largest export market with passenger car exports of 372,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 178.7%; Russia followed with 351,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 139.8%.

The two countries combined account for more than 40% of the total top ten in Chinese passenger car exports. Markets such as the UK, Belgium, Italy, and Australia also maintained rapid growth. Analysis by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute pointed out that the European market is "blooming everywhere, and if Russia is included, Europe accounts for over half of Chinese passenger car exports".

In terms of new energy, from January to May 2026, among the top five destinations for Chinese new energy passenger car exports, Brazil ranked first with 283,000 units, followed by Belgium and the UK. New energy exports in Italy and Germany surged by 365.3% and 211.2% year-on-year respectively—Chinese new energy vehicles have successfully entered the hinterland of traditional automotive powerhouse nations.

Meanwhile, the global map of Chinese automotive exports is also undergoing reconstruction. The Latin American market shows a bipolar differentiation—Brazil saw a surge in sales driven by pre-purchases due to expectations of tariff hikes in July; while Mexico saw exports decline by 40% year-on-year due to tariff hikes early in the year and tighter North American trade policies. Markets such as the UAE in the Middle East also entered an adjustment period, down 32.6% year-on-year. This differentiation indicates to some extent that Chinese automotive exports have moved from "indiscriminate" extensive expansion into a new stage of refined operations.

Source: Chery Automobile

Changes at the enterprise level are also worth noting. Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that among the top ten exporting car companies in the first half, Chery Automobile led with 931,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 70.9%; BYD followed with 769,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 73.6%. The two combined accounted for nearly 40% of the top ten total. Geely Automobile exported 472,500 units in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 158.3%; SAIC Passenger Car 404,200 units; Great Wall Motor 256,000 units; Tesla China 229,000 units.

More worth examining is the export ratio indicator. Chery's exports accounted for 74.3% of its total sales—meaning over 70% of this company's cars were sold overseas; BYD's overseas sales ratio exceeded 40%; Great Wall Motor's export ratio also reached 50%. The ratio of automotive exports to domestic sales in the first half rose to 37%, while the same period last year was only 19%. "Going global" has changed from an "elective course" for individual enterprises to a "compulsory course" for the entire industry, and the overseas market is moving from "icing on the cake" to "half of the business".

Undercurrents and Solutions Beneath the Splendid View

High-growth numbers are indeed exciting, but the structural contradictions hidden beneath the data that cannot be avoided are also worth noting.

Among them, the most prominent is the "ice and fire" situation between complete vehicles and components. Complete vehicle exports in the first half reached $91.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 54%; component exports were $51.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of only 7%. The "scissors difference" is obvious.

Chen Jingjing, Secretary-General of the Automotive Branch of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Machinery and Electronic Products, pointed out in an interview with the media that "the gathering place of automotive component exports is basically traditional automotive manufacturing powerhouse countries, represented by the USA and the EU, where measures to restrict exports to China are being continuously implemented". This forms a stark contrast with complete vehicle exports "basically not going to the USA".

Chen Jingjing further warned that Chinese automotive exports "have left the stage of pure trade driving, and future must shift to localized and systematic deep cultivation". She specifically pointed out that domestic enterprises going global generally have the shortcoming of "emphasizing sales and neglecting after-sales". "Short-term volume boosting will only overdraw the brand. After-sales, spare parts, user repurchase, and local reputation are the core lifeline for long-term deep cultivation in overseas markets." Cui Dongshu's judgment was more direct, stating "must follow the development of independent complete vehicle enterprises".

While the high growth of complete vehicle exports is gratifying, if components lag behind for a long time, the "autonomous and controllable" nature of Chinese automotive exports will face the risk of hollowing out.

Additionally, the continuous escalation of trade barriers is another practical pressure. Starting from October 2024, the EU levied final countervailing duties on Chinese pure electric vehicles for a period of five years, adding an extra tax burden of 7.8% to 35.3% on top of a 10% basic tariff. BYD, Geely, and SAIC were separately subjected to tax rates of 17%, 18.8%, and 35.3%. In June 2026, the European Commission planned to expand the scope of countervailing duties to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Xinhua Finance reported that the new rules may refer to pure electric standards, and the maximum comprehensive tax rate can also exceed 45%.

Non-tariff barriers are also upgrading. The EU plans to launch the "Supply Chain Diversification Instrument" and the "Public Procurement Act" in September 2026, requiring enterprises in sensitive industries to establish diversified supply channels in key fields, setting a limit of 30% to 40% on the procurement ratio for single suppliers.

At the same time, Brazil has unified the tariff on imported electric vehicles to 35% starting from July 1st. Thailand implemented a "capacity commitment mechanism", requiring car companies to exchange export volume for localization production indicators. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers are converging and strengthening.

Facing the increasingly high walls, Chinese car companies' answer is not to "go around", but to "dig in"—from "trade export" to "industry export".

For example, a factory of a domestic new energy complete vehicle enterprise in Brazil is the most typical sample. The factory welcomed its 100,000th new energy vehicle off the line in July. It is reported that the factory's first phase plans for an annual capacity of 150,000 to 200,000 units, with a long-term goal to expand to over 500,000 units, and plans to increase the localization procurement rate to 50% by early 2027.

Source: Chery Automobile

In Europe, Chery's layout is also of landmark significance. In June 2026, Chery and the Ebro Automobile Group started a new M1 production line at a joint factory operating in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone. The production line is 696 meters long, with 97 workstations, and a single vehicle production cycle of about 75 minutes. Rafael Ruiz, President of the Ebro Automobile Group, stated that the company chose Chinese enterprises as technical partners, intending to "introduce new technologies and industrial experience in the automotive field into Spain and convert them into local industrial capabilities and employment opportunities".

From product exports to the localization of capacity, brand, and supply chains, full-chain localization is becoming an inevitable path for Chinese automotive exports from the "first half" to the "second half". This trend is summarized by the industry as "ecosystem export". Under the drive of new energy and intelligent technology advantages, the form of Chinese automotive exports is changing: complete vehicle enterprises take the lead in laying out overseas capacity, supply chain enterprises follow suit, and overseas warehouses and after-sales service networks for components are also being perfected simultaneously.

Product export is just the first step. Full localization of capacity, brand, and supply chain is the key to determining whether Chinese automobiles can truly take root overseas.

Based on the export scale of 5.096 million units in the first half, breaking 10 million units for the year is inevitable. According to international professional agencies, Chinese automotive export volume in 2026 will increase by 41% year-on-year to 10 million units, becoming the first country in the world to export 10 million vehicles, equivalent to about 2.5 times the export volume of Japanese automobiles.

Conclusion

Looking back at 2021, Chinese automotive exports were less than $35 billion, merely an unremarkable footnote in the international trade landscape. Five years later, just half a year has approached the hundred-billion-dollar level—$91.8 billion. Behind this is a systematic explosion of decades of accumulation in Chinese manufacturing, and a historical window for reshuffling the global industrial landscape.

But beneath the halo of numbers, structural concerns are also clearly visible. The "gap" between components and complete vehicles, the comprehensive convergence of trade barriers, and the real test of localization capabilities—each is a threshold that cannot be bypassed. From "trade export" to "industry export", from "scale expansion" to "value deep cultivation", this road has just been paved, but is far from flat.

$91.8 billion is not only a report card but also an entry ticket. For Chinese automobiles to truly go from "big" to "strong", the decisive chapter is yet to come.

The pace of the Chinese automotive industry going global has been faster than anyone anticipated.

On July 9, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers revealed H1 data: In June alone, Chinese auto exports reached 1.037 million units, a 75.1% year-on-year increase, achieving single-month exports over 1 million for the first time; from January to June, cumulative exports hit 5.096 million units, a 65.3% year-on-year increase, and semi-annual exports broke through 5 million units for the first time.

The full-year export target of 7.4 million units set at the beginning of the year now appears too conservative. Based on current growth rates, achieving 10 million units in full-year exports has become a high-probability event. However, beyond the breakthrough in sales figures, the structural changes behind them are worth more attention. Domestic car sales for the first half of the year were only 9.921 million units, a 21.1% year-on-year decrease, while exports accounted for nearly 40% of passenger car production.

In this magnificent wave of going global, which companies are leading the pack? Which models are selling the best? Which markets are the main drivers for growth? Where is the next trend?

Overview of Company Exports

With the continuous surge in the scale of going global, the overseas layout of domestic automakers has differentiated into clear tiers, with the top tier forming a pattern of "one dominant leader and multiple strong contenders".

Chery Group sat firmly in the top spot with a H1 export figure of 943,800 units, up 71.5% year-on-year. Notably, Chery's exports accounted for 69.5% of its total sales, and for three consecutive months from April to June, overseas sales share exceeded 70%. June single-month overseas sales reached an all-time high of 191,000 units. For every car sold domestically, Chery sold nearly three overseas, showing that exports have become Chery's absolute primary growth pole.

Following closely, BYD delivered a H1 export performance of 789,000 units, up 71% year-on-year, with June single-month exports reaching 170,900 units alone. Especially in the new energy export niche, BYD's advantage is more obvious. In the first half of the year, new energy exports reached 769,300 units, with a market share as high as 34.5%. In other words, for every three exported new energy vehicles, nearly one was a BYD.

Geely Automobile was the most eye-catching dark horse in terms of growth rate: Exporting 474,200 units in the first half of the year, up 158% year-on-year, with a growth rate leading among top automakers; June overseas sales broke 100,000 units for the first time, reaching 102,900 units. In terms of new energy exports, Geely's increase was even more stunning, with H1 new energy exports reaching 275,400 units, surging 601.4% year-on-year.

SAIC, relying on its well-perfect multi-brand globalization matrix, also remains firmly in the first tier. Overseas wholesale sales in the first half of the year reached 735,000 units. Its MG brand has cultivated the European market for many years and has ranked first in Chinese brand sales in Europe for 11 consecutive years. Great Wall Motor has steadily progressed overseas pacing, with H1 exports of 291,400 units, up 47.4% year-on-year, and the overseas market maintained stable expansion.

From the perspective of niche sectors, the competition landscape of new energy exports reflects the strength of each company more. In the top 10 list of new energy export manufacturers in the first half of the year, BYD firmly stayed in the first place, with Chery and Geely in second and third place, corresponding new energy export volumes of 290,300 units and 275,400 units respectively. Following them were Tesla China, SAIC Passenger Car, Leapmotor, Dongfeng, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Changan, and XPeng. Among them, Leapmotor's overseas breakthrough was particularly eye-catching. H1 overseas sales neared 100,000 units, exceeding its own total overseas sales for all of 2025 in just half a year.

Another worth mentioning is that in May 2026, across 31 European markets, BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery, and Leapmotor, these five Chinese automakers sold a total of 138,400 new cars, up 65% year-on-year. Total sales for the first time exceeded the sum of six Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Nissan. The market share of Chinese brands locally jumped from 5.6% in May of the previous year to 10.7%. This was the first time Chinese automakers hit it out head-on against Japanese rivals in Europe, the world's third-largest automotive market.

Model Breakthrough and Market Map

The success or failure of going global ultimately depends on market acceptance. Focusing eyes from automaker tiers to specific models, from the disclosed market model performance, the outline of hit models is already very clear.

BYD Song Plus is the undisputed star model in the current export camp. In the first half of 2025, it topped the export model list with 134,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 184%; entering 2026, its overseas deployment pace accelerated further, continuously stocking from Southeast Asia to Western Europe, opening the situation with balanced design, extremely low usage costs, and accessible pricing, and is very likely to become the first true "Global Car" among Chinese brands.

From the technology route perspective, emerging markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia focus on price-performance ratio, with 100,000 yuan range compact pure electric vehicles being the most popular; mature markets such as Europe are more accepting of plug-in hybrid SUVs in the 150,000-200,000 yuan price range under the influence of policies and usage habits. The pattern of pure electric and plug-in hybrid double line breakthrough is very clear.

Meanwhile, the more critical change is in price and technology. China's automotive export is accelerating from the old model of "low-price volume sales" to a leap of "value-based globalization". Zeekr's average export price per vehicle in the first half of the year approached 350,000 yuan, and there are plans to launch high-end models with a starting price exceeding 460,000 yuan overseas; Denza, Yangwang, and other high-end brands have also achieved simultaneous volume and price increases overseas. Intelligence is becoming the "new business card" for China's automotive export—Chery was the first to pass the EU UN/ECE R171 safety management system audit, equivalent to obtaining a "technical pass" for high-level intelligent driving export.

Turning eyes to the overall market map again, according to data from Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute, from January to May 2026, Brazil topped the list of China's passenger car export markets for the first time with an export volume of 372,000 units and a 178.7% year-on-year growth rate; Russia followed closely with 351,000 units and a 139.8% growth rate. These two markets alone contributed more than 40% of the top ten total.

Among them, Brazil's explosive growth was behind a special background: starting July 1, 2026, local new energy vehicle import tariffs will rise from 25% to 35%, causing dealers to focus on抢运 in the first half of the year, pushing up shipment volumes. However, even if the short-term window closes, as the largest economy in Latin America, Brazil's long-term consumption potential remains solid.

The European market showed a situation of multiple points blooming: The UK ranked third with 189,000 units and 82% growth, Belgium, Italy, and Spain recorded export volumes of 156,000, 123,000, and 94,000 units respectively, with Italy's year-on-year increase reaching 140.7%. If Russia is included, the entire Europe has occupied half of China's passenger car exports.

However, under high growth, hidden worries are also showing: UAE export volume decreased by 32.6% year-on-year, and Mexico's drop reached 40%. The former is an adjustment period after high-speed growth, and the latter is directly impacted by the tariff hike in January this year. This also means that going global is no longer a blue ocean with everywhere growth. Tariff policy fluctuations and market cycle rotation shocks will always be normal variables the industry needs to face directly.

Where is the Next Trend?

In the market map of hot and cold differentiation, combined with H1 data trends and policy movements, there are three markets most likely to become the incremental core for the next stage of China's automotive exports.

The first worth mentioning is Brazil. Although new energy vehicle tariffs rose to 35% from July 1st and the short-term rush window is closed, this does not mean the end of market dividends. As the largest economy in Latin America, Brazil's automotive electrification has just started, and Chinese brands have laid the initial user perception with price-performance ratio and product power.

More critically, automakers like Chery have already established production capacity layout locally. Localized production can become a handle to bypass tariff barriers and deeply penetrate the market. Next, competition in the Brazil market will no longer be a simple comparison of export volumes, but a contest of localized operation depth.

The second trend belongs to Europe, which is the most contradictory yet most certain battlefield. The EU's anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese pure electric vehicles have been in effect for nearly two years. Some automakers' comprehensive tax rates have exceeded 45%. At the moment, they are also brewing to include plug-in hybrid models into the tax scope, and the tariff wall seems to be getting higher and higher. But the actual trend is exactly the opposite: In May 2026, the market share of Chinese brands in Europe had surpassed Japanese automakers.

The more control, the more growth. The logic behind this is: The comprehensive advantages formed by Chinese new energy vehicles in 800V high-voltage platforms, integrated die-casting, self-developed batteries, and other technologies, just filled the supply gap during the global electrification transition period.

Tariffs will temporarily raise costs and compress profits, but cannot reverse product-side advantages. That is why top automakers are accelerating to respond to tariff barriers with localization: BYD's Hungary factory is expected to start whole vehicle assembly in the fourth quarter of 2026. Chery's joint venture factory in Barcelona, Spain achieved mass production by the end of 2025. The new M1 production line officially started production in June this year. "Trading localization for market" is the strategy currently consensus among automakers on the European battlefield.

And the third potential trend is Southeast Asia, traditionally regarded as the "backyard" of Japanese brands. From January to May, Malaysia ranked tenth in export destination countries with 78,599 units of export volume. This volume is not particularly outstanding, but the signal revealed behind is extremely strong: The Southeast Asian market has long been monopolized by Japanese brands. Now Chinese brands have torn a gap here.

SAIC MG has cultivated Thailand for many years and laid the foundation. Leapmotor plans to land European local production through Stellantis's Spain factory. As RCEP tariff dividends continue to be released, this region is very likely to become the next explosive growth point following Europe. Especially countries that have launched new energy vehicle incentive policies such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.

Overall, the H1 export figure of 5.096 million units marks that China's automotive export has moved from testing the waters to the stage of harvest. But a clearer signal is that the competitive logic of the second half of the game has changed. Tariff barriers, geopolitical fluctuations, localized operations, every level is a hard battle.

As Chen Shihua, Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said, export for the second half of the year should be maintained with "cautious optimism". But without a doubt, Chinese car brands have already stood at the center of the global stage. From "going out" to "going in" and then to "going up", this industry's deep reform has just opened the curtain.

In the first half of 2026, auto sales broke the 15 million mark, and exports are becoming an important growth point.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) shows, the monthly auto export volume broke 1 million in June for the first time; from January to June, cumulative auto exports reached 5.096 million, a year-on-year increase of 65.3%, achieving over 5 million in semi-annual exports for the first time. Regarding the annual trend, CAAM remains cautiously optimistic, with full-year exports expected to break 10 million.

In contrast to the frantic expansion overseas, the domestic market can simply be described as bleak. NIO Li Bin called for the industry to prepare for a 15%-20% year-on-year decline in domestic auto retail volume for the full year of 2026. Data shows that the first half of the year became the most prominent feature of the car market: "strong exports, weak domestic sales." Automakers that fail to achieve a global layout in the future will find it difficult to withstand market cycle fluctuations.

1

Auto Exports Exceed Domestic Sales for Some Manufacturers

The domestic auto market is undergoing a deep adjustment. In the first half of the year, auto production and sales reached 14.993 million and 15.017 million respectively, down 4% and 4.1% year-on-year respectively. Against this backdrop, exports became the key engine driving the growth of China's auto industry, and also brought high-speed growth to auto exports after two years of adjustment.

Looking specifically. In June, auto exports were 1.037 million, increasing 11.6% month-on-month and 75.1% year-on-year, with monthly export volume breaking 1 million for the first time. From January to June, auto exports were 5.096 million, up 65.3% year-on-year. More noteworthy is the structural change—the share of export sales in total production has climbed to 39.34%. This means that for every 10 cars produced domestically, nearly 4 are heading to overseas docks.

Against this backdrop, multiple automakers saw overseas market performance hit new highs.

Among them, Chery Group ranked first with export performance of 943,800, a 71.5% year-on-year increase, with overseas sales accounting for more than 70%. This automaker that has long cultivated the overseas market, exported 191,000 units in June alone, a 79.7% year-on-year increase. A more milestone signal is that Chery's cumulative exports have officially broken the 6.78 million mark.

Not just Chery, the current growth momentum of the entire Chinese auto market comes from overseas market export performance. BYD: Overseas exports 789,400, accounting for 43% of total sales; going overseas has become an important certain link; SAIC Motor Group: exported 735,000 in the first half of the year, up 48.7% year-on-year; Since Chen Jiacai took charge of GAC International 8 months ago, GAC Group's overseas offensive speed has significantly accelerated, exporting 121,000 in the first half of the year, up 132% year-on-year, close to last year's full-year level.

Putting the export data of these automakers together, a clear trend can be seen: the overseas market is becoming the core pillar driving the overall growth of automakers. Especially against the backdrop of domestic market demand peaking, profit pressure, and fierce competition, the overseas market has officially upgraded from "incremental supplement" to "core growth pole." It can be said that the more intense the domestic market competition, the stronger the urgency for Chinese automakers to go overseas.

2

Trade Barriers Are an Inescapable Reality

The deep reasons supporting this wave of export explosion are timing, location, and people. First is timing—the global auto industry is transforming towards electrification; second is location—the Chinese auto industry chain is resilient; third is people—independent brand enterprises are working hard. Overall, China's auto going global is at the best time, and presenting a good situation of "blooming in multiple points globally."

In 2023 and 2024, Russia has always been China's number one auto export destination. But looking at the past two years, China's export volume to Russia has declined. In the first five months of this year, Brazil surpassed Russia, becoming China's number one passenger car export market. In addition, the UK, Australia, and Mexico follow closely behind.

Above the top ten overseas markets, the UK, Belgium, and Italy are all located in Europe. In the competitive landscape of the EU auto market, Chinese independent brands have gradually become stronger. In May this year, five Chinese automakers—BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery, and Leapmotor—sold a total of 138,400 units in Europe, an increase of over 60% year-on-year, while Japanese automakers' sales were 130,000 units, down 3%. Chinese autos surpassed Japan in the European market for the first time, with a market share reaching 12.01%.

Being able to enter Europe shows that our products can already meet the needs of consumers in developed countries, further proving the increasingly solid overseas competitive strength of China's auto industry. However, the hidden realistic challenges behind the high-speed development are equally impossible to ignore. For example, the EU is building walls, Brazil is raising taxes, Thailand is tightening, and the US is blocking. Global major auto markets are all setting up barriers for Chinese cars. The overseas expansion path of Chinese automakers is still full of challenges.

But Chinese automakers' response is much faster than expected, and they are laying out overseas strategies based on their own situations. Including Chery, BYD, Geely, etc., all set up production bases, R&D centers, and service networks overseas. Meanwhile, GAC Group announced plans to deploy 242 fast-charging stations in Brazil before 2030. The overseas competition of Chinese automakers is no longer just about selling cars, but starting to compete on who can truly stay locally, moving towards true globalization management.

Monthly exports breaking 1 million, 5.096 million vehicles exported in the first half of the year—not only is this a beautiful report card, but also a real breakthrough for Made in China in the global market. This year's 10 million export goal is also within reach, but more important than numbers is whether Chinese autos can establish sustainable competitiveness in the global market. In the future, China's auto globalization will enter the deep water zone, competing no longer on short-term sales, but on long-term systemic capability and global operational wisdom.

According to Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute data, from Jan-May 2026, exports of Chinese passenger cars and new energy passenger cars continued to show high growth, but regional differentiation intensified further. Regarding passenger car exports, Brazil continued to hold the top spot, with Russia following closely, the two countries accounting for more than 40% of the total in the top ten; the European market performed steadily, achieving high growth; while the Latin America and Middle East markets entered a period of deep adjustment.

New energy passenger car exports performed even more strongly. Brazil led by a large margin, Belgium jumped to second place, highlighting its status as a European transit hub; the European market occupied five seats in the top ten. Among them, Italy and Germany achieved explosive breakthroughs with growth rates of 365.3% and 211.2% respectively, showing that Chinese new energy vehicles have successfully penetrated the heartland of traditional automotive powerhouse countries; additionally, Australia ranked fourth on the list and South Korea eighth, fully demonstrating the core competitiveness and diversified layout capabilities of Chinese new energy vehicles in both traditional automotive powerhouse countries and emerging markets.

TOP 10 Export Destination Countries for Chinese Passenger Cars (Jan-May 2026)

No. 1 Brazil, Jan-May 2026, exported 372,199 passenger cars to Brazil, cumulative year-on-year growth of 178.7%.

No. 2 Russia, Jan-May 2026, exported 350,641 passenger cars to Russia, cumulative year-on-year growth of 139.8%.

No. 3 United Kingdom, Jan-May 2026, exported 188,935 passenger cars to the UK, cumulative year-on-year growth of 82.0%.

No. 4 Australia, Jan-May 2026, exported 158,230 passenger cars to Australia, cumulative year-on-year growth of 59.2%.

No. 5 Belgium, Jan-May 2026, exported 156,364 passenger cars to Belgium, cumulative year-on-year growth of 26.6%.

No. 6 Italy, Jan-May 2026, exported 123,214 passenger cars to Italy, cumulative year-on-year growth of 140.7%.

No. 7 United Arab Emirates, Jan-May 2026, exported 119,179 passenger cars to UAE, cumulative year-on-year decline of 32.6%.

No. 8 Mexico, Jan-May 2026, exported 113,642 passenger cars to Mexico, cumulative year-on-year decline of 40.0%.

No. 9 Spain, Jan-May 2026, exported 94,452 passenger cars to Spain, cumulative year-on-year growth of 56.0%.

No. 10 Malaysia, Jan-May 2026, exported 78,599 passenger cars to Malaysia, cumulative year-on-year growth of 26.9%.

From Jan-May 2026, the landscape of Chinese passenger car export destinations continued to evolve. Brazil maintained the top spot with 372,199 units and a 178.7% year-on-year growth, further consolidating its status as the No. 1 export market. Russia ranked second with 350,641 units and a 139.8% year-on-year growth, showing strong demand for Chinese vehicles.

In terms of regional distribution, the European market showed overall growth. The United Kingdom firmly ranked third with 188,935 units and 82.0% year-on-year growth. Belgium (156,364 units), Italy (123,214 units), and Spain (94,452 units) all achieved year-on-year growth, with Italy's growth reaching as high as 140.7%, reflecting the continuous breakthroughs of Chinese brands in new energy product import and channel construction in Europe. If Russia is included in the European regional consideration, the proportion of the European market in Chinese passenger car exports exceeds half, becoming the absolute core. However, the European market still faces uncertainties in policy environment, trade barriers, and local competition; future growth leans more towards structural opportunities.

The Latin American market showed obvious polarization. Brazil ranked at the top with over 370,000 units and 178.7% year-on-year growth, benefiting from early volume increase before tariff hikes in July. In contrast, Mexican exports declined by 40.0% year-on-year, related to tariff increases effective from Jan 2026, compounded by tightening North American trade policies and adjustments in market expectations, leading to significant demand contraction. This differentiation indicates that the performance of Chinese car companies in the Latin American region is influenced by tariff, trade policy cycles, and local market environments of each country, making operating fluctuations caused by country differences very prominent.

The Middle East market entered an adjustment phase. UAE (119,179 units) declined by 32.6% year-on-year, leaving behind the previous high-speed growth. Regarding the Asia-Pacific market, Australia (158,230 units) grew by 59.2% year-on-year, ranking fourth; Malaysia (78,599 units) grew by 26.9% year-on-year, ranking tenth, showing that the potential of Southeast Asian and Oceania markets is continuously being released. Overall, Chinese passenger car exports are transitioning from relying on a few hotspot markets to a new stage where multiple regions bear pressure together and the structure is becoming increasingly diverse; growth drivers are shifting from quantity expansion to a deeper contest of product strength and brand recognition.

TOP 10 Export Destination Countries for Chinese "New Energy" Passenger Cars (Jan-May 2026)

No. 1 Brazil, Jan-May 2026, exported 283,182 new energy passenger cars to Brazil, cumulative year-on-year growth of 175.6%.

No. 2 Belgium, Jan-May 2026, exported 150,110 new energy passenger cars to Belgium, cumulative year-on-year growth of 25.8%.

No. 3 United Kingdom, Jan-May 2026, exported 129,807 new energy passenger cars to the UK, cumulative year-on-year growth of 81.4%.

No. 4 Australia, Jan-May 2026, exported 111,406 new energy passenger cars to Australia, cumulative year-on-year growth of 168.2%.

No. 5 Italy, Jan-May 2026, exported 67,043 new energy passenger cars to Italy, cumulative year-on-year growth of 365.3%.

No. 6 Germany, Jan-May 2026, exported 65,235 new energy passenger cars to Germany, cumulative year-on-year growth of 211.2%.

No. 7 Thailand, Jan-May 2026, exported 62,316 new energy passenger cars to Thailand, cumulative year-on-year growth of 62.8%.

No. 8 South Korea, Jan-May 2026, exported 60,488 new energy passenger cars to South Korea, cumulative year-on-year growth of 170.3%.

No. 9 Spain, Jan-May 2026, exported 56,953 new energy passenger cars to Spain, cumulative year-on-year growth of 74.9%.

No. 10 United Arab Emirates, Jan-May 2026, exported 53,135 new energy passenger cars to UAE, cumulative year-on-year growth of 45.7%.

From Jan-May 2026, the landscape of Chinese new energy passenger car export destinations changed significantly. Brazil maintained the top spot with 283,182 units and a 175.6% year-on-year growth, further expanding its lead, with new energy becoming the absolute main force for Chinese car exports to Brazil. Belgium leaped to second place with 150,110 units and 25.8% year-on-year growth, highlighting its strategic value as a European new energy transit hub. The United Kingdom ranked third with 129,807 units and 81.4% year-on-year growth, followed closely by Australia with 111,406 units and a 168.2% surge year-on-year, showing that electrification demand in the Oceania market is accelerating.

In terms of regional distribution, the European market showed an overall explosive trend. Including Belgium and the UK, Italy (67,043 units) grew by 365.3% year-on-year, Germany (65,235 units) grew by 211.2% year-on-year, and Spain (56,953 units) grew by 74.9% year-on-year, with growth rates far exceeding the average. Among them, the amazing increases in Italy and Germany show that Chinese new energy vehicles have successfully penetrated the heartland of traditional automotive powerhouse countries, with product strength and brand recognition achieving substantial breakthroughs. However, the European market still faces policy uncertainties such as carbon tariffs and anti-subsidy investigations; future growth relies more on deep integration into local supply chains.

The Asian market is blossoming in multiple points. Thailand (62,316 units) grew by 62.8% year-on-year. As a stronghold of Southeast Asian EV industry, Chinese brands continue to deepen their efforts through localized production layouts. South Korea (60,488 units) grew by 170.3% year-on-year, entering the top ten for the first time, reflecting significantly improved competitiveness of Chinese new energy vehicles in East Asian neighboring countries. Regarding the Middle East market, UAE (53,135 units) grew by 45.7% year-on-year, with new energy becoming a new growth point in this region.

Overall, Chinese new energy passenger car exports have entered a new stage, with market coverage extending from emerging economies to traditional automotive powerhouse countries. Growth dynamics have shifted from price advantages to a deeper contest of technical strength and brand premium. In the future, how to maintain sustainable growth under the intensification of trade barriers and requirements for local production will be a common challenge facing Chinese new energy vehicle companies.

GAC Group released a half-year performance report for 2026. The numbers are quite shocking — net loss for the first half estimated at 4.06 billion to 4.57 billion yuan. The net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses was even worse, with a loss of 4.8 billion to 5.6 billion yuan. More than 4 billion yuan, losing over 20 million yuan per day, it doesn't look very ideal.

But look at another set of numbers — GAC sold 773,100 vehicles in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 2.35%. New energy vehicle sales accounted for over 60%. Independent brands sold 346,000 vehicles, a surge of 35.69%. AION was even more fierce, 181,600 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 67.08%. Overseas exports 121,500 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 132%, the semi-annual export scale is already close to last year's full year level. Sales are up, new energy transformation is accelerating, and exports are doubling — but the books show an even bigger loss. How is this account calculated?

 GAC Group

What does the official say?

GAC's announcement was very straightforward, three reasons:

First, domestic market competition intensified, independent brands continued to increase sales investment, plus changes in product sales structure, and rising upstream raw material costs, leading to a decline in independent brand profits.

Second, joint venture brands are facing operational pressure. Specifically, terminal sales decline, continued increase in sales investment, rising raw materials, etc., are all important factors, and the company's investment income decreased year-on-year.

Reason for Loss 

Third, exchange rate fluctuations caused exchange losses, adding another blow. Obviously, GAC Group gave a relatively clear interpretation of the reasons for the loss in the first half.

To translate, it might be that independent brand profits are not as high as before, joint venture brands are under greater pressure, and exchange rates also caused a certain loss to profits.

Combining all the above factors, GAC Group is expected to incur a loss in the first half of 2026. Moreover, the loss amount is expected to reach 4.06 billion to 4.57 billion yuan, which is quite high.

However, Car Universe World believes that if you only focus on the word "loss", you might miss the real story.

Loss Forecast Announcement 

Joint Ventures: One "Under Pressure", One "Steady"

GAC Group official data shows, GAC Honda sold 68,300 vehicles in the first half, a year-on-year decline of 55.82%, almost 60% down. June single month 14,000 vehicles, although it increased more than 50% month-on-month, it fell 53% year-on-year.

The joint venture giant that used to sell 700,000 annually, now the average monthly sales of the first half is over 10,000 units. Accord, Fit, Vezel, Integra these classic models, monthly sales generally not as high as before.

Obviously, from the sales perspective, in the first half of 2026, GAC Honda still declined significantly, reaching over 50%, bearing a certain amount of pressure.

Production and Sales Express 

But the performance of GAC Toyota is different, the overall performance is still steady. Moreover, under the situation that domestic car market joint venture brands are under pressure overall, its sales volume is stable and rising.

GAC Group official data shows, in the first half of 2025 GAC Toyota sold 356,000 vehicles, monthly average sales close to 60,000 units. Year-on-year increase 3.29%. March, April, May for three consecutive months topped the sales list of joint venture car companies. July 2nd, GAC Toyota also welcomed the 10 millionth mass-produced vehicle rolling off the assembly line, joining the "million-unit level large factory".

Moreover, Car Universe World found, supporting GAC Toyota is not low-price volume-selling cars, but the Camry, Highlander, Sienna three major flagships continuing to exert effort, smart electric hybrid double engine vehicle proportion reached 54% . Boxi brand sold 52,000 units in the first half, Boxi 3X consecutive 10 months holding joint venture pure electric sales champion.

One continues to bear pressure, one steady, this joint venture card, GAC has not finished playing yet.

 Boxi 7

Independent and Overseas Markets, The Real Highlights

Car Universe World believes, if there is anything eye-catching in GAC's first-half performance report, it must be the overseas market and the surge in independent sales.

Official data shows, first half of 2026, GAC Trumpchi cumulative sales 164,000 units. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 12.36%.

AION rose even harder. Official data shows, first half of 2026, GAC AION cumulative sales 181,000 units. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 67.08%.

In terms of overseas markets, first half independent brand exports 121,500 vehicles, year-on-year growth 132%, semi-annual export scale already close to last year's full year. Americas, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe five major regions simultaneously achieved high-speed growth.

 Trumpchi E8

Mexican market, AION ES and AION UT both entered the top ten in new energy BEV sales. Bolivia, GAC brand consecutive months holding China brand passenger car sales champion. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia — GAC's overseas map is blossoming in multiple points.

GAC's overseas target set at the beginning of the year was 250,000 vehicles for the full year, striving for 300,000 vehicles. First half completed 121,500 vehicles, completion rate close to half. When the domestic market is too hard to compete, overseas became GAC's strongest growth curve.

 AION N60

The Account of Transformation, Cannot Look Only at the Present

The "Panyu Action" launched in 2025 is being implemented step by step.

Headquarters moved to Panyu, closer to the production frontline. Feng Xingya said an interesting sentence — "We moved the office to the place closest to the gunfire, so that those who hear the gunfire can call for it." Business Unit (BU) restructuring finished, Hyper AION BU formed first, January 2026 Trumpchi BU also established. GAC independent brands have formed a new operating architecture centered on BU.

Cooperation with Huawei also produced results. Jointly created high-end brand "Qijing" first model GT7, launched in Hangzhou on June 26th. Price 209,900 to 329,900 yuan, launched 24 hours big deposit orders broke 5200 units, Post-90s, Post-00s user proportion over 60%. Pre-sale 5 hours orders broke 10,000. 90 cities nationwide 300 stores gradually launched.

Qijing GT7 is equipped with Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving ADS 5. This is GAC's first car with deep cooperation with Huawei, and also a hard battle facing the market after the "Panyu Action".

These moves are all "money" in the short term — R&D needs money, channels need money, brand building needs money. But looking at a longer time dimension, these investments are storing power for the next stage. GAC positioned 2026 as the "Internal Renovation" critical stage, likely this is the meaning — first solidify the foundation, then talk about building high-rise buildings.

 AION N60 

Conclusion of This Article:

GAC's full-year target set at the beginning of the year was 2 million vehicles, first half completion rate less than 40%. Second half needs to sell nearly 1.23 million vehicles, monthly average over 200,000 vehicles. Under the current situation of joint venture pressure and intensifying new energy competition, how hard this task is, no need to say more.

But Car Universe World believes, the cards GAC holds are not finished playing yet. Joint ventures have GAC Toyota stabilizing, independent brands have AION and Trumpchi rushing, overseas releasing volume, Qijing just started.

How to play these cards, when to play them, perhaps will become an important factor for GAC Group when to walk out of the pain of transformation. These, we still let time give an answer.

Transformation is always bitter first then sweet, and never looking only at the present. What do you think? Let's chat in the comments.

Statement: This article involves relevant events, originating from brand official or authoritative media messages, for reference only, specific based on official information. If there are information, data discrepancies caused by typos, based on official information. Hope everyone looks rationally, do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors.

Article Statement:

This article is original writing of Car Universe World, reviewed by Ling Qing/Liu Shuai, Total Issue 14186, some pictures from the internet, marked source data and related materials are all citations. Car Universe World original copyright owned, infringement will be investigated.

In the first half of 2026, China's car exports reached 4.059 million units, up 63% year-on-year. At this growth rate, breaking 10 million units for the year is almost a certainty — by then China will become the world's first automotive giant to export over 10 million units annually, equivalent to 2.5 times Japan's volume.

But another set of data is not looking so good. From January to May this year, domestic passenger car retail sales reached 7.099 million units cumulatively, down 19.5% year-on-year. Among the five major independent brands, BYD sold 1.8085 million units in the first half, down 15.72% year-on-year. Growth relies mostly on exports. This isn't prosperity; it's like 'starving at home, relying entirely on grabbing from outside'.

Let's first see just how fierce the exports are. Chery exported 940,000 units in half a year, securing the top spot, with a share as high as 74.3% — 3 out of every 4 cars sold were exports. BYD followed with 790,000 units, with 174,800 units exported in June alone. What was most unexpected wasn't the volume, but the direction. In May data from 31 European countries, these five — BYD, SAIC, Geely, Chery, Leapmotor — sold a combined 138,400 units, up 65% year-on-year, surpassing the total of six Japanese brands like Toyota, Nissan, and Honda for the first time. The market share of Chinese brands in Europe jumped directly from 5.6% in May last year to 10.7%. Doubling in one year isn't growth, it's swallowing whole.

But Europeans lost patience. On July 1, the EU's final anti-subsidy duties on Chinese pure electric vehicles officially took effect — 17.4% for BYD, 18.8% for Geely, 35.3% for SAIC, plus a 10% base tariff, pushing the combined tax rate for some manufacturers above 45%. Tougher still, the EU is brewing to include plug-in hybrids in the tax scope. Over the past year, plug-in hybrids were the core channel for Chinese manufacturers to bypass pure EV tariffs; now they're trying to block all paths. But China is not someone to be trifled with. The Ministry of Commerce immediately issued a final anti-dumping ruling on EU pork, with rates ranging from 4.9% to 19.8% for five years. China is the world's largest pork consumer market; the EU's pig feet, ears, and offal rely entirely on China to digest. This blow targets the vote banks of agricultural states. Countermeasures on cognac and dairy products are also coming. Wine merchants in France's Cognac region are already shaking.

But can tariffs really stop us? The Chinese auto manufacturers' response is simple — build factories right at your doorstep. BYD is building a factory in Hungary to start production next year, Chery is laying out plans in Brazil and Spain, and SAIC is deepening roots in Thailand. If tariffs block prices, I'll just bypass your tariff wall. It's exactly the same script as Japanese automakers frantically built factories in the US after the US imposed tariffs back then. The only difference is that Chinese cars going overseas are faster, larger in volume, and the industrial chain is more complete.

Overall, the slump in the domestic car market forces all brands to go outward, and exports have made up for all the growth lost domestically. But the EU's 45% tariff is just the first hurdle; behind it, the door to the North American market is tightly shut, and the fortress of Japanese cars in Southeast Asia won't be breached in a day. The race for Chinese car exports has shifted from 'grabbing incremental growth' to 'fighting hard battles'. 10 million units is inevitable, but the tariff walls, political barriers, and localization difficulties on the road are getting harder and harder.

On June 1, Geely Automobile Holdings Co., Ltd. (shturl.) released May sales data, with sales reaching 237,637 units that month, achieving double-digit growth month-over-month and year-over-month for three consecutive months. New energy, overseas exports, and each brand segment delivered outstanding performance, demonstrating strong growth momentum.

Sales Rise Across the Board; New Energy Share Continues to Lead

In May, Geely Automobile's overall sales grew steadily, with its three core brands working in synergy:

• Geely brand sales reached 182,528 units, solidifying the group's sales foundation;
• Lynk & Co brand sales reached 20,732 units, cumulative sales exceeded 1.8 million;
• ZEEKR delivered 34,377 units, a year-on-year increase of 81.8%, achieving double-digit growth month-over-month and year-over-month for four consecutive months. The average transaction price per unit surged 52.4% year-on-year, with the 9-series and 8-series models accounting for nearly 50%.

Group new energy sales (including Geely, Lynk & Co, ZEEKR) reached 133,355 units, accounting for 56.1%, exceeding 50% for four consecutive months, showing significant results in new energy transformation.

Overseas markets achieved another breakthrough. May export sales reached 85,144 units, a new historical high. Among them, new energy product exports were 40,803 units, accounting for 47.9%, with global layout continuously deepening.

Multiple Brands Work in Unison; Product Matrix Continues to Upgrade

ZEEKR: Luxury Pure Electric Sales and Value Rise Together; Flagship New Product Leads with Power

The refreshed ZEEKR 009 officially launched on May 19, with a limited-time price starting at 413,800 yuan after benefits. The seven-seat Ultra+"Family Edition" order share exceeded 60%. The new car features a full-stack 900V high-voltage architecture, CLTC range of 720 km, adding 510 km of range in 10 minutes of charging, 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 3.9 seconds, paired with a 700 TOPS computing power Thor-U chip, achieving the pinnacle of intelligence and performance.

ZEEKR 7X global cumulative deliveries exceeded 160,000 units, expanding to over 40 regions in one year of going global; ZEEKR 9X cumulative deliveries surpassed 60,000 units, with shooting brake model confirmed orders continuously breaking 10,000.

Lynk & Co: Electrification Transformation Accelerates; Sports Performance Redefined

Lynk & Co May new energy model sales were 14,688 units, accounting for 70.8%. Lynk & Co 10 and Lynk & Co 10+ officially launched at the end of May and started the first batch of deliveries, redefining the standard for mid-to-large size sports pure electric sedans with ultimate driving control.

Coinciding with the brand's 10th anniversary, nearly 100 Lynk & Co stores nationwide completed image refreshes, and channel new energy transformation is landing on a large scale; meanwhile, signing Han Dongjun as the Automotive Sports Ambassador, with frequent race results, winning multiple championships in TCR China and CTCC events.

Geely Brand: Hit Models Frequently; Covering All Sub-segments

• Geely Galaxy: May sales 81,727 units, Xingyao 7 MAX sales exceeded 10,000 units within 23 hours of launch, all-new Xingyuan range fully upgraded, limited-time rights price starting at 61,800 yuan, 700,000 units delivered in 573 days;
• Geely China Star: May sales 100,801 units, double growth month-over-month and year-over-month, Boyue and Double Bin family year-on-year increase both exceeded 45%, Xingrui TCR race car won world-class event championships;
• New products such as Emgrand and Cowboy were launched successively, consolidating the leading position in the family car market; Emgrand family global cumulative sales exceeded 4.2 million units.

Dual Breakthrough in Globalization and Intelligence; Strengthening the Foundation for Development

Overseas markets bloomed in multiple points, with multiple ZEEKR and Geely Galaxy models topping sales lists in sub-segments in countries such as Australia, Mexico, and Malaysia; in May, Geely Automobile reached a strategic cooperation with the England team, continuously expanding the globalization "friend circle."

In the field of intelligence, Qianli Haohan assisted driving cumulative mileage reached 1.38 billion kilometers, activation rate 93.8%, year-on-year growth 215%, cumulative avoidance 8.9 million times, safety strength industry-leading. Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i completed extreme collision tests, demonstrating Chinese automobile manufacturing strength with hardcore safety.

Based on the "One Geely" strategy, Geely Automobile will continue to deepen new energy and intelligence transformation, accelerate global layout, drive the Chinese automobile industry to continue upward with all-round upgrades in products, technology, and brands.

When it comes to domestic car brands, many people's impression may still be stuck at the stage of mainstream family cars. However, this is already old news from a few years ago. You should know that current domestic car brands not only beat joint venture brands in the domestic market, but have also surpassed foreign car brands on multiple tracks such as high-end development and overseas exports. Take the Geely Automobile we are talking about today for example.

Growth Momentum Leads the Industry

According to the latest data released by the official, Geely Automobile's cumulative sales in May reached 237,637 vehicles. It achieved double growth year-on-year and month-on-month for three consecutive months, leading the overall market with stable growth and impressive results. However, compared to this already excellent total performance, many industry insiders, after seeing the sales results of each brand under Geely Automobile, will be amazed that its quality is also getting higher.

As is well known, there are two hardest markets in the automotive industry: the luxury high-end market and the overseas export market.

Taking Geely Automobile as an example, its "Global Luxury Technology Brand" — Zeekr Automobile, reached deliveries of 34,377 vehicles in May, an 81.8% increase year-on-year and an 8.1% increase month-on-month, achieving double growth for four consecutive months. The average transaction price per vehicle also increased by 52.4% year-on-year. What is even more shocking is that the sales share of Zeekr 9 Series and 8 Series, which are priced as high as 400,000 to 500,000, accounts for nearly 50%!

Not only that, Geely Automobile's "Global New Energy High-End Brand" — Lynk & Co, also achieved May sales of 20,732 vehicles, with new energy vehicle sales accounting for 70.8%, and the brand's cumulative sales have broken 1.8 million. This shows that Geely Automobile's high-end models have not only won the recognition of a large number of consumers with excellent product power, but have also completed the transformation of volume and price rising together at the brand level.

Of course, as the undisputed leading automotive enterprise in China, Geely Automobile's focus is no longer limited to the domestic market. It chose to go global to challenge the more difficult overseas market. This is not the case, May's overseas export achievement of 85,144 vehicles set a new record for export sales. It is worth mentioning that the hot-selling products of Geely Automobile brands overseas are also mostly high-end or new energy vehicles.

For example, Zeekr has entered more than 50 countries and regions, and the cumulative global delivery volume of Zeekr 7X has exceeded 160,000 vehicles; Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i remained the champion of new energy plug-in hybrid SUV sales in Kazakhstan for March and April; Geely Galaxy E5 remained the champion of pure electric SUV-C market sales in Australia, Argentina, UAE, Morocco, and Uruguay for the first quarter, and stayed in the top three in Brazil, Uzbekistan, and Indonesia new energy pure electric SUV-C models!

Hardcore Strength Creates Brilliance

Obviously, whether it is the rapid sales growth trend, or the hot sales in new energy, high-end market and overseas market, it is inseparable from hard strength as support. Taking Lynk & Co Automobile as the first car racing brand in China for example, top technology shouldn't just stay on the marketing level, but must be proven on the track. Therefore, it recently announced carrying 03+ TCR Racer, 03++ Racer, and 03 CUP EVO three racing cars to participate in TCR China, CTCC China Cup, and Lynk & Co Cup three major events simultaneously.

With hardcore strength, Lynk & Co naturally fears no high-difficulty tests. In the two-round finals of TCR China, the 03+ TCR Racer achieved the results of 4 championships, 1 runner-up, and 2 third-place finishes with its hardcore performance strength; in the CTCC China Cup, the Lynk & Co Zongheng Racing Team even achieved the results of 2 championships, 2 runner-ups, and 1 third-place finish. At the same time, in the 2026 Season FIA TCR World Tour opener, the Starri TCR Racer of Geely China Star Racing Team (Geely Cyan Racing) also won the race in the final and brought back the historical first win. This not only means that Starri TCR has world-class competitiveness, but also marks that Geely China Star Racing Team has officially completed the first chapter of the Geely Automobile Sports New Era.

At the same time, in technical levels such as intelligence and safety, the Haohan inherited Geely and Volvo safety heritage, assisted driving mileage grew by 215% in one year, leading the entire industry with the fastest growth rate. In the recent Euro NCAP official test, Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i (Geely STARRAY EM-i) successfully completed the exceeding standard bilateral serial limit crash test at the France UTAC Laboratory. This not only intuitively confirms Geely's leading vehicle safety technology and mature systematic safety strength, but also lays a solid foundation for Chinese automotive safety technology to go international and participate in global industry standards!

Daxia Car Talk: I believe many people, after seeing Geely Automobile's sales data, will have the praise "It's too comprehensive" in mind. After all, car enterprises that can achieve impressive results in new energy, high-end, overseas exports, and even on the track at the same time, let alone in the independent domestic brand circle, you can't even find a few car enterprises in the global automotive industry that can achieve these things simultaneously!