Sales Rating | The "report card" of independent car companies in July was released: BYD's monthly sales hit a new high, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is expected to increase again

National Business Daily

2024-08-02 18:22Posted on the official account of Sichuan Daily Economic News

Reporter: Sun Lei Editor: Pei Jianru

At the beginning of August, independent car companies such as BYD, Geely, Chery, Celis, and Great Wall successively released their July production and sales data.

The Passenger Association previously said that after preliminary estimates, in July, the domestic retail market sales of narrow passenger cars were about 1.73 million units, a slight decrease of 2.0% year-on-year. However, in terms of the performance of many domestic brands, sales volume has increased compared with the same period last year, and most of them have increased by double digits year-on-year. Especially in the field of new energy vehicles and the export market, independent car companies have achieved significant growth.

According to the sales data released by some independent brands, in July this year, BYD, which set a new record for sales in history, ranked first in the independent camp, followed by Chery and Geely, and is still in the camp of the "top three" independent car companies, and Great Wall Motor is still far from the goal of monthly sales of 100,000 units.

BYD's monthly sales hit a new high

In July, BYD's sales were still significantly ahead. On August 1, BYD's July sales data showed that it sold about 342,400 new cars that month, of which about 349,800 passenger cars were sold, a year-on-year increase of 30.5%; In January ~ July this year, BYD's cumulative sales of passenger cars were close to 1.948 million units, which has surpassed the annual sales volume in 2022 (1.8634 million units).

However, it should be noted that while the monthly sales exceeded 340,000 units for two consecutive months, BYD's pure electric models declined year-on-year and month-on-month in July after February this year; Plug-in hybrid products increased by 76.42% year-on-year and 8.08% month-on-month, and for the first time, the proportion of BYD's total sales in a single month increased to more than 60%, reaching 61.85%.

Image source: Photo by reporter Kong Zesi (data map)

In contrast, Chery and Geely are both at the level of monthly sales of 150,000~200,000 units. In July, Chery Holding Group sold about 195,800 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 30.1%. Among them, exports totaled nearly 90,300 units, reflecting a 16.8% y/y increase. NEV sales were about 45,400 units, up 254.5% year-on-year. In January ~ July this year, Chery Holding Group sold more than 1,296,300 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45.4%.

According to the announcement released by Geely Automobile, in July this year, its sales were 150,800 units, a year-on-year increase of about 13%. Among them, Geely's sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 59,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 58%; Overseas export sales were about 32,400 units, a year-on-year increase of 65%. In January ~ July this year, Geely Automobile's cumulative sales were about 1,106,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 36%. Among them, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles were close to 380,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 58%; Overseas export sales totaled nearly 230,000 units, up 67% year-on-year.

In addition, Cialis has also maintained growth in sales. In July this year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 43,900 and 42,200 respectively, an increase of 435.96% and 508.25% year-on-year respectively; In January ~ July this year, the cumulative production and sales of Cialis were 247,800 and 243,100, an increase of 362.49% and 369.95% year-on-year respectively.

Great Wall Motor's sales fell in July. Production and sales data show that Great Wall Motor's monthly sales were about 91,300 units, down 16.32% from 109,100 units in the same period last year. However, in January ~ July this year, Great Wall Motor's cumulative sales were about 651,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%.

Great Wall Motor said that the company sold 38,200 vehicles overseas in July, with a cumulative sales volume of 239,700 units in January ~ July, and 24,100 new energy vehicles in July and 156,500 units in January ~ July.

Differentiated routes to the sea are gradually taking shape

Judging from the performance of most independent brands in July, the growth of corporate sales is more in new energy vehicles and overseas markets. The Federation of Passenger Cars believes that independent brands have achieved significant growth in the new energy vehicle market and export market, the transformation and upgrading of leading car companies have performed well, and the market share of auto brands such as BYD, Chery and Geely has increased significantly.

As the main force in the domestic new energy vehicle market, the growth of sales of self-owned brand new energy vehicles is expected to further increase the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles. According to the forecast data previously released by the Passenger Car Association, in July, the domestic retail sales of new energy vehicles are expected to be 860,000 units, flat month-on-month, a year-on-year increase of 34.1%, and the penetration rate is expected to increase to 49.7%.

It is worth mentioning that independent brands are still launching new products in order to seize more market share. For example, new cars such as BYD's 2025 Seal, Lynk & Co Z10, Geely Galaxy E5, and 2025 Star Era ES will all be launched this month.

In terms of overseas markets, although there are many challenges encountered in the process of going overseas, domestic brands are still actively coping. For example, some companies choose to invest and build factories in Europe to better meet market demand and reduce the impact of trade barriers; Some companies choose to cooperate with travel service providers to speed up their overseas layout.

Image source: Photo by reporter Sun Tongtong (data map)

For example, BYD recently reached a cooperation with Uber, a mobility and delivery technology company, to add 100,000 electric vehicles to the Uber platform. It is reported that the cooperation will first be launched in Europe and Latin America, and is expected to provide pricing and financing services for BYD car drivers on the Uber platform, and will expand to markets such as the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

There is a view that at present, independent brands are gradually forming a "differentiated" way to go overseas for different markets with different characteristics around the world. For example, build factories in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and other export core regions; For markets with strong local brands such as Europe, we have begun to try a "new joint venture" model with technology output as the core; For markets such as Africa, the model is dominated by direct exports.

According to relevant research reports, by 2030, Chinese brand cars will achieve 9 million sales outside of China, increasing their market share to 13%.

National Business Daily

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