appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Daniel Ren

Leading Chinese carmakers like BYD and Chery Automobile are reaping rewards from their efforts to boost sales abroad, as they chase higher profitability amid rising demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
Chery, which spearheaded the go-global drive among mainland China’s automotive groups and is the country’s largest car exporter, delivered three times as many cars overseas as at home last month.
The state-owned company, based in eastern China’s Anhui province, handed 181,571 vehicles to customers outside the mainland in May, up 81 per cent from a year earlier. Overseas sales accounted for 73 per cent of its total sales for the month.
“The numbers are eye-catching because they show how Chery is evolving into a truly international player with overseas sales making up a majority of its total,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based data provider CnEVPost. “It is not alone, because its domestic peers, like BYD and Great Wall Motor, are also revving up their international expansions, banking on their technological and production advantages.”
BYD, the world’s largest EV builder, also posted an 81 per cent year-on-year jump in overseas sales last month, with its 160,177 units representing 42 per cent of its total sales.
Success abroad has been especially important to the Chinese carmakers this year amid a domestic sales slump owing to reduced government-funded buyer incentives.
The buoyant numbers would offset lost revenue on the mainland because Chinese-made cars commanded higher prices in markets like Europe and Southeast Asia, analysts said.
Chinese carmakers’ average net profit margin per vehicle currently stood at about 5,000 yuan (US$739), according to Nick Lai, head of auto research for the Asia-Pacific region at JPMorgan. However, that figure could climb fourfold to 20,000 yuan in overseas markets, he added.
The global energy crisis due to US-Israel war with Iran boosted demand for EVs around the world, offering the likes of BYD and Chery a windfall as they worked to increase international sales.
From January to May, Chery’s deliveries outside the mainland climbed nearly 70 per cent year on year to 752,755 units, with 48 per cent or 361,800 of those cars being EVs – both pure electric and plug-in hybrid variants.
In late May, Zhang Guibing, president of Chery International, said in a media briefing that EVs would represent as much as 70 per cent of the company’s total overseas sales in 2026, surging 27 per cent from a year earlier to around 1.05 million units.

The state-owned carmaker, based in Wuhu in Anhui province, is aiming for total annual sales outside mainland China of 1.5 million units, which would represent a year-on-year rise of 12 per cent.
Meanwhile, BYD’s EV sales abroad surged 65 per cent year on year to 616,907 in the first five months of 2026, representing 44 per cent of its total deliveries.
“Chinese brands are gaining buyers’ recognition rapidly, especially in Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and Brazil,” JPMorgan said in a research report last month. “We forecast overseas markets will account for approximately 30 to 60 per cent of selected Chinese carmakers’ revenues in 2026, versus only 15 to 30 per cent of their volume, reflecting higher average selling prices and margins outside China.”
As Chinese carmakers increase production in foreign markets, some international supply chain companies also stand to benefit.
Zhu Jinping, China chairman of Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik, Europe’s biggest maker of printed circuit boards used in in-car entertainment and driver assistance systems, said its global manufacturing network could effectively support its customers’ overseas expansion needs.
“Our company has established a global supply system covering China, Malaysia, India and Austria, and can flexibly allocate production capacity and delivery resources according to the different regional market demands of the [EV] customers,” he said in a media briefing in Shanghai last week. “The globalisation strategy of China’s EV makers and car component suppliers is driving demand for high-end electronics.”


As Chinese carmakers diversify beyond CATL batteries, Beijing warns of market overreaction

Chinese EV battery giant CATL starts trial production at Hungarian factory

Hong Kong lacks a climate narrative to unify its efforts

Despite stock stress, CATL likely to retain EV battery dominance in China, analysts say

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese carmakers BYD, Chery chart 80% growth overseas as EV demand spikes

A shopper passes a display of Chinese-made cars, including models from Chery and Omoda, in a shopping centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 23. Photo: Reuters

People view a BYD electric car at an event in Harrogate, UK, on May 8. Photo: Reuters

Tesla’s China sales surge to 2026 high, but rivals crowd the rear-view mirror

A Tesla vehicle on display at a Beijing showroom. Deliveries from the carmaker’s Shanghai plant hit a 2026 high in May. Photo: AFP

Tesla vehicles at the company’s Shanghai Gigafactory. Deliveries from the factory rose 39.4 per cent year on year in May. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese EV makers recover in May but competition remains fierce amid overcapacity woes

A man opens the door of a Zeekr X7 electric vehicle at a showroom in Beijing on February 3, 2026. Photo: AFP

Visitors sit inside the Leapmotor D19 SUV during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China), in Beijing, April 24, 2026. Photo: Reuters

Visitors walk past the booth of XPeng at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 25, 2026. Photo: CN-STR/AFP

China’s Chery predicts over 1 million EVs sold abroad as energy crisis persists

Employees work on a factory production line for Chery’s electric vehicles in China’s Anhui province. Photo: Reuters

China’s machinery giant XCMG eyes bigger scoop of global sales with green, autonomous tech

A giant XCMG truck dwarfs other vehicles at the company’s customer festival in Xuzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on May 19. Photo: Handout

Yang Dongsheng, chairman of XCMG, speaks at the company’s customer festival in Xuzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on May 19. Photo: Handout

Premium plan: China’s EV makers pin hopes on high-end models to buttress margins

People inspect and pose with Nio’s ES9 ahead of the car’s launch event in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Consumers learn about the Zeekr 9X at a shopping mall in Yantai City, in eastern China’s Shandong province, on March 4. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Business

China Business

China EVs

Companies

Markets

Money

News

China Future Tech

Economy

China Economy

Global Economy

‘Eye-catching’ numbers show efforts paying off amid growing brand recognition abroad and tepid sales at home, analysts say


‘Eye-catching’ numbers show efforts paying off amid growing brand recognition abroad and tepid sales at home, analysts say.


Chinese carmakers BYD, Chery chart 80% growth overseas as EV demand spikes

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Eye-catching’ numbers show efforts paying off amid growing brand recognition abroad and tepid sales at home, analysts say

‘Eye-catching’ numbers show efforts paying off amid growing brand recognition abroad and tepid sales at home, analysts say