The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 1, a number of car companies released August delivery data one after another. Many brands performed well, and sales in overseas markets increased dramatically. On the same day, the Ministry of Commerce and three other departments jointly issued the “Guidelines for Overseas Competitive Conduct and Compliance Construction in the Automobile Industry” to guide car companies to regulate overseas market behavior, raise the level of multinational business compliance, and help the healthy internationalization of the automobile industry. Analysts believe that as car companies expand overseas markets and continue to promote channel construction and enrich product matrices, the scale of Chinese brands going overseas will accelerate towards standardized development.
According to car companies' delivery data or sales data for August, the delivery volume of several new power brands remained high. Zero Sports was far ahead with 103,300 vehicles, and continued to maintain a steady monthly sales level of 100,000 vehicles. Xiaopeng Motors, Ideal Auto, Extreme Krypton Auto, and NIO Auto are concentrated in the range of 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles, and the focus on delivery volume has moved up from month to month. For the fifth month in a row, Xiaomi has been stable with more than 30,000 cars, and its performance is stable.
In addition to new car builders, the “Big Three Independent Brands” also announced sales figures for August one after another, and their overseas performance was particularly impressive. Among them, BYD sold 433,000 passenger cars in August, compared to 372,000 units in the same period last year. Overseas sales exceeded 180,000 vehicles in August, reaching another record high.
The Chery Group sold 2,80,128 vehicles in August, an increase of 15.4% over the previous year. Of these, it exported 197,000 vehicles, an increase of 52.1% over the previous year; the Group has exported 7.18 million vehicles in history, making it the first Chinese car company to export more than 7 million vehicles.
At the same time, Geely Automobile released the latest sales data: sales volume in August was 272,200 units, a double increase over the same period for 6 consecutive months; overseas export sales were 110,000 units, up 205% year on year, up 3% month on month, and achieved a month-on-month increase of 8 consecutive months.
Geely stressed that the company has reached a “systematic overseas” stage, and overseas exports have reached a new high. Among overseas exports, new energy products continued to account for more than half. In August, export sales of new energy products were 70,600 units, an increase of 446% over the previous year, accounting for 64%. According to reports, Geely has raised its 2026 overseas sales target from 640,000 vehicles to 920,000 units, and is sprinting to sell 1 million vehicles a year.
What is evident in comparison with the high growth in automobile sales is that the profit margins of car companies continue to be at a low level. According to data disclosed by Cui Dongshu, head of the China Automobile Dealers Association, in the first seven months of this year, the automobile industry's cumulative revenue was 6078 billion yuan, up 2.7% year on year; costs were 5405.8 billion yuan, up 3.8% year on year; profit was 216.2 billion yuan, and the automobile industry sales margin was 3.6%, which is still low compared to the 6.5% profit margin of downstream industrial enterprises.
Against the backdrop of intense competition in the domestic market and low profit margins, the overseas market is becoming a key variable in determining the growth space for car companies. “Asking for growth from overseas” is an important strategy for most leading car companies.
A number of car companies have made it clear in their semi-annual reports and performance communication that they will step up their overseas market development efforts in the second half of 2026. Ideal Auto, Rantu Auto, and Cyrus Auto prioritize the high-end markets in the Middle East and Central Asia, and simultaneously prepare for right-hand drive markets in Europe and Southeast Asia; Xiaopeng Auto and Zero Sports rely on overseas foundries or joint ventures to promote localized production, accelerate European market penetration, and explore incremental markets in North America and Latin America; Geely Holdings and Chery continue to expand the advantages of the existing global system and further expand overseas production capacity and channels.
Currently, the scale effect of overseas business has yet to be unleashed, domestic competition is still intensifying. Factors such as delays in the confirmation of benefits from overseas tax policies and exchange rate fluctuations have eroded profits, and revenue growth brought about by going overseas has not been effectively converted into profit.
In order to regulate the formation of standardized operations by car companies overseas and enhance overseas efficiency, the “Guidelines for Overseas Competitive Behavior and Compliance Construction in the Automobile Industry” were introduced.
On September 1, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the General Administration of Market Regulation jointly issued the “Guidelines for Overseas Competition Conduct and Compliance Construction in the Automobile Industry”, which focuses on competitive practices such as overseas marketing by automobile industry enterprises, as well as compliance measures such as overseas production safety, quality management, labor security, and data security, providing a reference basis for the competitive behavior of Chinese automobile companies operating overseas.
In the field of competition and pricing in overseas markets, the guidelines make a number of detailed requirements. Enterprises can establish a pricing strategy based on cost and guided by supply and demand in the international market, do a good job of managing vehicle and parts price compliance, and prevent the use of price measures to gain an unfair competitive advantage and disrupt the local market order.
From hovering around the level of one million vehicles for a long time to sprinting to the scale of 10 million vehicles, China's automobile exports have made a quantum leap, reaching the top of the world's largest automobile exporter. Industry experts believe that tens of millions of vehicles are not the end, but a new starting point for the second half of going overseas. Chinese cars going overseas officially bid farewell to “scale expansion” and enter a new stage of “taking root and deep cultivation.”
Guoxin Securities released a research report saying that domestic automakers continue to promote channel construction and enrich their product matrices, and the scale of overseas travel is growing at an accelerated pace. On a medium- to long-term perspective, under the trend of independent rise and electric intelligence, I am optimistic about investment opportunities for car companies to go overseas. In the context of the rise of manufacturing in China, passenger cars may continue to accelerate overseas.
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BYD Co., Ltd. (01211): In August 2026, the company sold about 443,300 vehicles, up 17.84% year on year; exported a total of about 189,500 new energy vehicles. In the first eight months, sales volume was about 2.668 million units, and commercial vehicle sales increased 21.30% year over year.
Geely Automobile (00175): The Group's total automobile sales volume in August 2026 was 270,194 units, an increase of about 8% over the same period last year. Overseas export sales in August were 110,000 vehicles, up 205% year on year and 3% month on month. Proton sold 22,426 cars in August 2026, an increase of about 47% over the same period last year. Furthermore, Proton achieved cumulative vehicle sales volume of 137,192 units in the first 8 months of 2026, an increase of about 29% over the same period last year.
NIO - SW (09866): The company delivered 35,836 vehicles in August 2026, an increase of 14.5% over the previous year. The deliveries include 21,174 cars under the company's NIO brand, 8,810 cars under the company's Redo brand, and 5,852 cars under the company's Firefly brand. As of August 31, 2026, the company has delivered a cumulative total of 1,260,485 vehicles.
Xiaopeng Motor-W (09868): In August 2026, Xiaopeng Group delivered a total of 39,107 new vehicles, an increase of 4% over the previous year. On August 11, the Xiaopeng G9L was officially launched and pre-sale began in mainland China. It will be launched and delivery will begin in September.