Early August, car makers typically "show off their results". BYD July sales 419,211 units, among them overseas sales 179,841 units, year-on-year increase of 124.3%, accounting for 43% of total sales; Chery Group sales 276,820 units, exports 202,533 units, year-on-year increase of 70.1%, becoming the first Chinese car company to exceed 200,000 monthly exports; Geely Automobile July sales 250,161 units, overseas exports 106,663 units, year-on-year increase of 202%.

Looking at these three sets of data and three representative car companies together, it is not difficult to find that going global has accounted for more than 40% of sales of top car companies.

From the performance of various car companies in the past, the features of going global reflected by this data are not accidental. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu has expressed on multiple occasions that BYD's goal is to become a "global new energy enterprise". The 43% proportion in overseas sales in July simply made this goal start to change from a slogan to reality. Chery Holdings Chairman Yin Tongyue also said: "Chery does not want to make easy money at home, but if Chinese cars only run within their own backyard, they will never produce world-class enterprises."

As for the reasons, there are several points worth paying attention to that might explain this. July new energy penetration rate created a historical high of 64.5%, but the retail scale of 1.52 million units itself was at a low level in the off-season. Fuel cars still have about 540,000 monthly sales, accounting for 35.5%. In addition, pure electric continues to strengthen internally within new energy, while plug-in hybrid/extended-range growth has slowed down. The incremental space in the domestic market is narrowing.

Considering the broader context, the attention given by top players to going global can be considered forward-looking preparation. And by this time, going global for more Chinese car companies has no longer been a "choice".

Behind the volume, the change of main battlefield is the general trend

The data of top car companies has raised the volume of going global, which also means that overseas has undoubtedly become the "main battlefield". BYD July overseas sales 179,841 units, accounting for 43% of total sales. January to July overseas cumulative 969,000 units, one step away from 1 million units. 8 RoRo ships fully deployed, annual capacity 1 million units, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary factories started production one after another, Spain's second European factory is under investigation. BYD's going global plan is huge, with the meaning of "going all in".

Chery Group July exports 202,533 units, accounting for 73% of total sales. Refreshing single-month export records for five consecutive months, January to July cumulative exports 1.146 million units, year-on-year increase of 71.2%. According to General Administration of Customs data, Chery is also a "big user" of going global. In 2025, the total export volume of Chinese automobiles is about 8.32 million units, Chery alone contributed 1.344 million units, accounting for more than 16%.

July data this year is even more pointed. Chery Automobile Co., Ltd. (9973.HK) July sales 261,876 units, year-on-year increase of 24.1%, entered the Fortune Global 500 List with the identity of a listed company for the first time, ranking 383rd, Return on Equity (ROE) 36.5%, ranking 30th among globally listed companies, and ranked first among Chinese enterprises. This shows that going global has become a key link for Chery to stand globally.

Geely's setup is also huge. Geely Automobile July exports 106,663 units, year-on-year increase of 202%, exceeding 100,000 units for two consecutive months, overseas proportion 42%. New energy exports 62,604 units, year-on-year surge of 616%, accounting for 59% of total exports. Zeekr brand July deliveries 35,837 units, year-on-year increase of 111%, winning the luxury pure electric sales champion in markets such as Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, etc.

The three top car companies combined went global by about 490,000 units, while the entire domestic narrow passenger car market July retail was also only 1.52 million units. This shows that going global for top car companies is no longer a "supplement", but the "top priority". Li Auto July deliveries 30,468 units, slight decrease of 0.9% year-on-year, but L9 still started local production in Kazakhstan. This is the first step it took overseas, showing that even new forces feel the pressure of "go global or perish".

Of course, trend is one thing, and reality issues cannot be ignored either. Does the "half of the sky" in volume equal the "main battlefield" in quality? This is a question worth further thinking. For example, Chery export proportion is 73%, but domestic monthly sales is only 74,000 units, overseas is three times domestic data. There is a risk here. If policies change suddenly in overseas markets, the impact will be huge.

Going global is really making money, or changing places to "compete"?

Volume is explicit, looking at sales proportion can tell. Profit is implicit, no matter which battlefield, this is an unavoidable issue. From the pricing space perspective, overseas markets indeed have more advantages than domestic. The price war in domestic car market has been fought for several years. July terminal average discount narrowed month-on-month, but overall is still in price competition. BYD Dynasty and Ocean series domestic main sales 100,000-200,000 yuan interval, price pressure is huge, but sold for good money abroad.

Chery's first complete financial report after listing also shows that Chery's average selling price per car overseas is 15,000 yuan more expensive than domestic. In Middle East, Jetour Traveler high-spec version sells to 450,000 yuan, twice as expensive as domestic. BYD's Fang Cheng Bao, Denza and other high-end brands are also accelerating going global, overseas single car average price far higher than domestic.

Geely's situation is also similar. Zeekr brand average price exceeds 300,000 yuan, positioning as luxury brand in Australia, Malaysia and other markets, premium pricing power far higher than domestic. Behind the new energy exports surging 616% year-on-year, it is high value-added products supporting, not low price walking volume. This shows that actually high-quality models overseas still have profit space.

However, hidden costs are also fierce. European Union imposing anti-subsidy duties on Chinese electric vehicles, United States market basically closed to Chinese car companies, tariff barrier costs should be calculated. So far, overseas is indeed worth fighting, but laying out overseas now might become more difficult, costs will also be higher.

After all, going global input is not a small number. BYD self-built 8 RoRo ships, built factories on three continents, input is billions level. Chery South Africa Roslin plant launched, Spain cooperation re-activated EBRO brand; Geely reached Ford Spain Valencia factory joint venture agreement and other operations behind, also money paving the way.

Currently mainstream car companies tried three going global modes, benefits and risk performance are completely different. For example, early Chery was pure product export model, profit margin medium, front investment low, but risk high, tariff and policy fluctuations could disrupt rhythm at any time. BYD walked product + capacity localization model, long term view profit margin higher, but front investment extremely high, testing global supply chain management and cross-cultural operation capabilities. Geely used technical cooperation + capacity sharing model, path lightest, but control ability will also correspondingly weaken.

New forces now have their own understanding. NIO July deliveries 35,934 units, year-on-year increase of 71%, battery swap station network in Europe continued to layout. Leapmotor July deliveries 101,267 units, year-on-year increase of 102%, first time breaking 100,000 units threshold, first half year overseas exports nearly 100,000 units, already exceeded last year full year. XPeng July deliveries 38,027 units, year-on-year increase only 4%, but in Germany completed XPeng Turing AI Smart Driving localization acceptance testing. Overall, new forces walk mostly differentiated route.

Can only say, going global has "profit" to earn, but absolutely not a smooth path. Overseas also need to "compete", but worth it depends on profit.

"Main battlefield" conversion behind, or domestic market incremental "not enough to share"

Going global why being pushed to "main battlefield" position, domestic market incremental space narrowing is fundamental factor. July new energy retail about 980,000 units, among them pure electric proportion about 60%, pure electric internal to new energy continues to strengthen, plug-in hybrid/extended-range growth slowed down. This means, "oil and electric" market share is being squeezed by pure electric quickly, pure electric acceptance is continuously improving.

New forces differentiation also proves this. Leapmotor July deliveries break 100,000 units, becoming domestic first single month deliveries exceed 100,000 units new force brand. Its success relies on covering 60,000-300,000 yuan full price product matrix, and overseas market simultaneous explosion. Li Auto July deliveries 30,468 units, slight decrease of 0.9% year-on-year, decrease of 1.4% month-on-month, only double decrease brand among top new forces. There indeed exists i6 due to supply chain issues reduced production about 4,000 units special situation, showing brand dependence on single model is still risk. NIO July deliveries 35,934 units, decrease of 11.5% month-on-month, even three brands collaboration exerting force, but still did not achieve effective complement between brands.

Another aspect, fuel car toughness is still there. July fuel car retail about 540,000 units, market share 35.5%. Sylphy, Lavida still firmly stable in sedan top three, Japanese SUV year-on-year decline over 10%, but not "cliff-like drop". Fuel car stock user replacement cycle still there, short term will not disappear. All this points to one core contradiction: domestic market "cake" is getting bigger, but cake stealing car companies do not yield to each other, competition is continuously intensifying.

BYD domestic monthly sales 239,000 units, already approaching single car company domestic share limit. Leapmotor at 100,000 unit level volume continue to climb, will face capacity bottleneck and supply chain pressure. XPeng July deliveries 38,027 units, new model MONA L03 orders hot but capacity ramp-up is its next biggest test. Xiaomi Auto July deliveries over 30,000 units, fourth consecutive month stuck at this threshold, Peng Cheng series September only listed deliveries, real volume pushing to fourth quarter.

Domestic auto market incremental space narrowing, stock competition new stage arriving, current Chinese auto market, "domestic demand pressure, foreign trade strength" structure or will be future relatively long term trend. Simply put, domestic market this piece of cake, already not enough to share. Not going global, wait to die; going global, maybe still have live road.

Conclusion

From July sales overseas data view, going global now is already car company "main battlefield". Domestic market growth slowing, fuel car won't die fast, stock competition intensifying, going global is inevitable choice. But overseas pricing space larger is fact, but tariffs, building factories, logistics costs not low, different mode profit structure difference huge. Who can win this "main battlefield" battle, now hard to say. Regardless of next battle situation how, Chinese car companies must be clear is, going global is not picking up money, more does not represent domestic market can relax vigilance, how to balance internal and external relations, choose suitable going global mode, is the key.