Which automaker made the most money in the first three quarters? BYD earns over 85 million yuan per day, and Seres' net profit increases by 31.6%.
At the end of October, multiple A-share listed automakers successively released their financial reports for the third quarter of 2025. Amid the overall growth and structural differentiation in the automotive industry, the performance of different automakers also shows a contrast.
In the first three quarters, among A-share listed automakers, only BYD had revenue exceeding 500 billion yuan. BYD's revenue reached 566.27 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%, hitting a new high for the same period; its net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company (hereinafter referred to as "net profit") was 23.33 billion yuan, equivalent to earning over 85 million yuan per day.
SAIC Group's total operating revenue in the first three quarters was 468.99 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.95%; its net profit was 8.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.28%. Seres also recorded growth in both revenue and profit, with revenue of 110.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; and net profit of 5.312 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.6%.
However, affected by factors such as the fierce competition in the domestic automotive industry, in the first three quarters, both the revenue and profit of GAC Group declined; Great Wall Motor and Changan Automobile saw an increase in revenue but not in profit.
According to data disclosed by Cui Dongshu, the secretary-general of the Passenger Car Association, the profit margin of the automotive industry from January to September this year was 4.5%. Compared with the average profit margin of 6% for downstream industrial enterprises, the profit margin of the automotive industry is still relatively low.
In July this year, multiple departments jointly interviewed some leading domestic automakers, requiring them to avoid vicious involution and competition. How to curb irrational competition, stabilize the price system, and increase the added value of products to improve the overall profitability remains a common question for automakers this year.
1 Differentiated Profitability of Automakers
Looking through the third-quarter reports of major domestic A-share listed automakers, the performance of each company is differentiated, with some being "happy" and some being "worried".
BYD led in terms of revenue and sales. In the first three quarters of this year, BYD's revenue reached 566.27 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Behind the record-high revenue for the same period, BYD sold 3.26 million vehicles in the first nine months, a year-on-year increase of 19%.
However, BYD's profit declined. Its net profit in the first three quarters decreased by 7.55% year-on-year to 23.33 billion yuan; in the third quarter, its net profit even decreased by 30% year-on-year to 7.82 billion yuan.
BYD has not yet responded to the reason for the decline in net profit. However, according to the financial report, BYD's R & D expenses in the first three quarters were 43.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31%.
SAIC Group ranked second in terms of revenue scale. In the first three quarters of this year, SAIC Group achieved total operating revenue of 468.99 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.95%, and a net profit of 8.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. Specifically, its net profit in the third quarter increased by 644.9% year-on-year to 2.08 billion yuan.
Seres also achieved growth in both revenue and profit in the first three quarters. Its operating revenue was 110.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; its net profit was 5.31 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.6%.
However, in the fierce market competition, some automakers saw an increase in revenue but not in profit or turned from profit to loss.
In the first three quarters of this year, Great Wall Motor's revenue was 153.582 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.96%; its net profit was 8.635 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.97%. In the third quarter, Great Wall Motor's net profit decreased by 30% year-on-year to 2.298 billion yuan.
Galaxy Securities said that Great Wall Motor's profit was under short - term pressure in Q3, but the scale effect drove the continued optimization of the period expense ratio.
For Changan Automobile, the cumulative operating revenue in the first three quarters was 114.927 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.58%; the net profit was 3.055 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.66%; the non - recurring profit and loss attributable to the parent company reached 2.018 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.08%.
Huaxi Securities pointed out in a research report that the profitability of Changan Automobile's main business has improved. The decline in the net profit attributable to the parent company was mainly affected by non - recurring profit and loss items, such as a decrease in government subsidies; and the year - on - year increase of 56.26% in sales expenses in the first three quarters due to support for the increase in new - energy vehicle sales and the promotion of new products.
From January to September, GAC Group's revenue decreased by 10.49% year-on-year to 66.272 billion yuan; it recorded a net loss of 4.312 billion yuan, compared with a net profit of 120 million yuan in the same period last year.
GAC Group explained in its third - quarter report that the change in performance was mainly due to the combined effects of fierce competition in the domestic automotive industry, a rapid upgrade in the demand structure leading to a decline in vehicle sales and profitability, and a decrease in the total profit year - on - year due to the valuation premium of Ruqi Mobility's listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the same period last year.
Cui Dongshu said: "Considering the downward trend of the profit margin in previous years, the decline in the profit of the automotive industry has still been relatively large recently. Due to the obvious price advantage of new - energy vehicles supported by policies, the profit - making pressure on mainstream automakers will still increase sharply. However, as the country's anti - involution work continues to advance, the effect of promoting the improvement of the industry's profit has also been reflected."
2 Seeking Multi - Dimensional Growth Paths
For automakers that are still in a loss state or experiencing a decline in profit, it is urgent to actively accelerate transformation and seek multi - dimensional growth paths to improve profitability.
"We need to make progress and innovate every day. GAC has truly entered a 'wartime state'." On October 20, Feng Xingya, the chairman and general manager of GAC Group, said in the CCTV program "Dialogue".
After the launch of the Panyu Action, GAC Group's performance improved quarter - on - quarter. Its sales volume and revenue have achieved positive quarter - on - quarter growth for two consecutive quarters.
In September, GAC Group and Huawei jointly announced the establishment of "Qijing". On October 21, Feng Xingya revealed on his personal social platform that he visited Ren Zhengfei some time ago, and the latter proposed taking a younger and more technological name.
It is reported that hundreds of Huawei employees have been stationed at "Qijing" for a long time. The first product of the "Qijing" brand will be launched in mid - 2026 and will be fully equipped with Huawei's Qiankun intelligent solution.
Changan Automobile is fully promoting the "Shangri - La" new - energy plan, creating three new - energy brands: Avita, Deepal, and Changan Qiyuan. From January to September this year, it achieved global new - energy vehicle sales of 724,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 59.7%.
SAIC Group is driving the "new troika" of "self - owned brands, new - energy vehicles, and overseas markets" to accelerate by comprehensively deepening reforms, implementing integrated management of its self - owned brand passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle businesses, and improving the market response speed.
In the overseas market, from January to September, SAIC's cumulative overseas sales reached 765,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 3.5%; among them, the overseas sales of new - energy vehicles reached 215,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 69.7%; SAIC MG's terminal deliveries in the European market exceeded 220,000 units, maintaining double - digit growth.
BYD's performance in the overseas market was particularly eye - catching. Its sales volume in the first three quarters reached 702,000 units, a year - on - year surge of 132%, far exceeding the total overseas sales volume in 2024. Currently, its products cover 117 countries and regions around the world.
On October 9, BYD's 14 millionth new - energy vehicle rolled off the production line at its Brazilian factory. In addition, BYD globally launched the K - EV BYD RACCO tailored for the Japanese market and simultaneously launched a dual - line strategy of "pure - electric + hybrid", officially introducing its first plug - in hybrid model, the Sea Lion 06 DM - i, in the Japanese market to accelerate the layout of models in the Japanese market.
The overseas market has gradually become a stable growth point for automakers. Great Wall Motor's overseas sales exceeded 50,000 units for the first time in September, reaching 50,269 units. In the first three quarters of 2025, Great Wall Motor's cumulative overseas sales were 334,200 units.
Meanwhile, automakers are also competing to enter emerging industries such as humanoid robots and flying cars. For example, Changan Automobile is jointly developing humanoid robots with leading partners to break through core technologies such as the robot's "brain", "energy", and "drive". In the field of flying cars, Changan Automobile plans to launch a route - flying car product in 2030 to achieve commercial operation.
Creating new new - energy brands, incubating hit models, exploring the overseas market, and seizing opportunities in emerging industries... More and more automakers are breaking the tradition and embracing new trends. The third - quarter financial reports reveal not only the performance differentiation but also the test of technology, globalization, and organizational capabilities. In the deep - water area of the industry reshuffle, only continuous innovators can break the situation.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Times Finance APP" (ID: tf - app), author: He Qing, editor: Zhang Ze. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.