Chery Auto's 2026 H1 report reveals a complex picture: 6.3% net margin leading the industry, overseas revenue approaching 70% becoming the profit pillar, yet premium brand sales plummeted and net profit attributable to parent declined YoY, raising questions about growth quality.
Profitability Decoded: The Value of 6.3% Net Margin
Against the industry backdrop of "rising volume but falling profits," Chery's performance stands out:
| Profit Margin Comparison | Value | Industry Position |
|---|---|---|
| Chery Net Margin | 6.3% | 4x vehicle sector avg |
| National Auto Manufacturing Avg | 3.8% | NBS data |
| Vehicle Manufacturing Segment | 1.5% | CAAM data |
| H1 Auto Industry Profit | 195.4B yuan | -20% YoY |
What did Chery do right?
- Gross margin improved 3.1pp to 16.1%, gross profit of 23.04B yuan, up 25.1% YoY
- High-margin overseas markets: Overseas revenue of 98.97B yuan, nearly 70% of total, with stronger pricing power abroad
- Cost control: Financial expenses dropped from 1.45B to 549M yuan, down 62.1%
- Debt optimization: Bank loans fell from 15.92B to 10.00B yuan, down 37.2%
Overseas Dependency: Opportunities and Risks
"2 of every 3 yuan from abroad" is both an achievement and a structural risk:
Core overseas strengths:
- European market: 139,000 units in Jan-May, up over 2x YoY
- UK market: ranked second by brand for three consecutive months
- JAECOO 7 once captured the UK monthly market crown
Potential risk factors:
- Exchange rate volatility — overseas revenue settled in USD/EUR, directly impacting profits
- Trade barrier risks — EU tariffs on Chinese EVs remain uncertain
- Market concentration risk — over-reliance on overseas markets, domestic growth sluggish
Premium Brand Struggles: Exeed & Luxeed Dual Decline
Chery's multi-brand strategy hit bottlenecks in the premium segment:
| Brand | H1 Sales Trend | Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Chery Main | Steady growth | Mass market |
| Jetour | Growing | Family off-road |
| iCAR | Growing | Tech Gen Z |
| Exeed | Down 44.9% | Premium mobility |
| Luxeed | Down 56.9% | Intelligent driving |
Reasons for premium struggles:
- Exeed brand positioning blurred, insufficient differentiation from Chery main brand
- Luxeed, as a Huawei HIMA brand, faces internal competition from AITO, STELATO
- 200K+ yuan market dominated by BYD, Tesla, NIO
Chery urgently needs to answer: after conquering the mass market, how to break through the brand ceiling?
NEV Transformation Acceleration
Despite premium setbacks, Chery's NEV transformation merits recognition:
- NEV revenue share leaped from 25.6% to 41.4%
- R&D spending of 6.67B yuan, up 28.3% YoY
- Three consecutive months exceeding 100,000 monthly sales, ranking top 3 by wholesale
Key watchpoints:
- Whether H2 new models can revive premium brands
- PHEV product acceptance in overseas markets
- Whether intelligent tech (Huawei partnership) can create differentiation
EX1000.COM will continue tracking Chery's brand-up strategy execution, providing in-depth analysis for Central Asian and Russian readers following Chinese automaker investment value.
