On August 31, the 2024 first half financial reports of the 20 A/H-share listed automobile companies were released. In the first half of the year, which was characterized by intensified competition, BYD stood out, ranking first in both revenue and net profit; its revenue was 1209 times that of Zotye Auto. 10 car companies achieved double growth in revenue and net profit, accounting for 50% of the total.

Due to the impact of product structure and main business, there was a significant differentiation in the performance of the 20 car companies in the first half of the year. Xpeng, Baic Bluepark, Haima Auto, and Zotye Auto are still in a state of loss, while the decline of joint venture brands also dragged down the performance of established car companies such as SAIC Motor and Guangzhou Automobile Group.

Independent brands performed well.

BYD achieved operating income of 301.127 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 15.76%; it achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 13.631 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.44%. BYD's new energy vehicles sold a total of 1.613 million units in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 28.46%.

In the first half of this year, the domestic market faced intense competition, and many companies actively or passively joined in the "price war." As the leader of the "price war," BYD showed exceptional resilience, achieving a gross margin of 23.94% for its automotive and other product businesses in the first half of the year, an increase of 3.27 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

As an old rival, Great Wall Motor gradually shifted its profit direction to overseas markets. Great Wall Motor achieved a total operating income of 91.429 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 30.67%; and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 7.079 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 419.99%. "The growth in overseas sales and further optimization of the domestic product structure have driven a significant increase in net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company." Great Wall Motor stated.

According to the financial report, Great Wall Auto sold a total of 0.5597 million vehicles from January to June, an increase of 7.79% year-on-year. Among them, overseas sales reached 0.2015 million vehicles, an increase of 62.59% year-on-year, accounting for a significantly increased share of 36%, up 10.32 percentage points from 2023.

Among domestic independent brands, Geely Auto and Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock (Sailishi) also showed remarkable performance. Geely Auto achieved revenue of 107.305 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 46.62%; net income attributable to parent increased by 574.7% to 10.598 billion yuan. The key to the performance growth is the improvement of core business. Geely Auto's cumulative sales volume in the first half of this year reached 0.956 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 40.98%.

"Considering the current sales situation, the group's management has unanimously decided to adjust the annual target for 2024 to more than 2 million vehicles." At Geely Auto's performance communication meeting for the first quarter of 2024, Geely Auto Group CEO Gan Jiayuebiao broke down the new target: for the domestic market, Geely brand sales of 1.15 million vehicles, Lynk & Co brand sales of 0.27 million vehicles, Geometry brand sales of 0.2 million vehicles; for the overseas market, Geely brand and Lynk & Co brand together reached 0.35 million vehicles, and Geometry brand reached 0.03 million vehicles.

Benefiting from the cooperation with Huawei, Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock's sales of new energy vehicles in the first half of this year reached 0.2009 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 348.55%; achieving revenue of 65.044 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 489.58%; net income attributable to parent was 1.625 billion yuan, turning losses into profits.

Joint venture brands are gradually declining.

In the first half of this year, independent domestic brands and joint venture brands continued to perform in a "bipolar" manner. Previously, joint venture brands, which were seen as "profit cows," have now become a burden.

In the first half of this year, SAIC Motor Corporation achieved a total revenue of 284.686 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12.82%; net income attributable to parent was 6.628 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.45%; non-GAAP net income was 1.02 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year decrease of 82%. "The decline in the gasoline vehicle market and the unprecedented price war have led to a decrease in the company's sales revenue and a decline in gross margin," SAIC Motor Corporation said.

In terms of specific sales volume, in the first half of this year, SAIC Motor Corporation sold a total of 1.827 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 11.81%. Among them, SAIC Volkswagen slightly increased by 1.75% year-on-year; SAIC General Motors decreased by 49.98% year-on-year; SAIC-GM-Wuling achieved a 9.6% year-on-year increase. In terms of profit contribution, SAIC Volkswagen achieved a net profit of 0.865 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 62%; SAIC General Motors incurred a loss of 2.275 billion yuan in the first half of this year, compared to a profit of 0.528 billion yuan in the same period last year. SAIC-GM-Wuling achieved a net profit of 0.097 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 142.1%.

Compared to SAIC, Guangzhou Automobile Group suffered a 'complete defeat' in the first half of this year, with a total sales volume of 0.863 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 25.79%, with new energy auto sales dropping by over 30%. The two major joint venture brands GAC Toyota and GAC Honda saw year-on-year declines of 25.8% and 28.28% respectively.

Guangzhou Automobile Group's total operating revenue in the first half of this year was 45.808 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 25.62%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 0.516 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 48.88%. The non-net profit after deduction appeared to be a loss of 0.338 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 112.51%.

Dongfeng Motor Group and Changan Automobile are at a critical stage in the transition to new energy, both experiencing a situation of increased profit but not increased revenue. In the first half of this year, Dongfeng Motor Group's revenue was 51.145 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.06%, with a net profit attributable to the parent company of 0.684 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of nearly 50%. Changan Automobile's operating income in the first half of this year was 76.723 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.15%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 2.832 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of as much as 63%.

In addition, new forces in car manufacturing, Xiaopeng Motors and BAIC Bluepark, have not yet been able to become profitable due to poor sales in the first half of the year, with losses of 2.653 billion yuan and 25.71 billion yuan respectively. In the second half of the year, with the launch of the Xiaopeng MONA and Xpeng P7 models, both companies' performance is expected to improve. In contrast, Haima automobile and Zotye Automobile's main businesses are still struggling and show no signs of profitability.

Strong demand for commercial vehicles domestically and internationally.

In the commercial vehicle sector, commercial vehicle companies generally saw improved performance in the first half of this year, mainly driven by the 'scrappage for new' policy and strong overseas market demand.

In April of this year, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and 7 other departments issued the 'Implementation Details of Subsidies for Scrapping Old Cars and Buying New Cars', and local governments are also using substantial subsidies to drive automobile consumption. Subsidies for scrapping and updating old operating trucks, new energy public buses, and power battery updates are further increasing the enthusiasm for renewal in the commercial vehicle sector, injecting new impetus into the automobile consumer market.

Specifically, Yutong Bus achieved operating income of 16.336 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 46.99%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.674 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 255.84%. Ankai Bus achieved operating income of 1.148 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 53.90%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 7.2578 million yuan, turning around from a loss. Zhongtong Bus achieved operating income of 2.755 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 66.26%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 0.111 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 114.64%.

At the same time, the export of commercial vehicles has also become an important growth point. According to the data of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), from January to June this year, the export of commercial vehicles reached 0.454 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%. Yutong Bus mentioned in its financial report that since this year, the flow of people in various countries has continued to increase, and the demand in various segmented markets such as public transportation, tourism, and passenger transportation has continued to recover. The opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative and the delivery of key projects such as pilgrimage vehicles in the Middle East region have promoted a substantial growth in the export industry. Benefiting from this, the company's export sales volume has achieved a significant increase, the proportion of export business has increased, and performance contribution has increased.

In addition to Yutong Bus, Jianghuai Automobile has also made great strides in its overseas business in the first half of this year. The company's main business income was 19.703 billion yuan, of which overseas income (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) reached 11.65 billion yuan, accounting for 59% of total revenue. The cumulative export sales volume in the first half of the year reached 0.063 million vehicles, accounting for about 30% of total sales.