Ranked first in exports, among the top three in new energy, and making breakthroughs in embodied intelligence. Why can Chery go "against intuition"?
At the end of 2025, when the price war and elimination competition intertwined in the automotive market, Chery presented a somewhat "counter - intuitive" report card.
In November, the sales volume of Chery Group exceeded 273,000 vehicles. More impactful than the simple total volume is the drastic change in its structure: Chery, once regarded as a major player in traditional fuel - powered vehicles, achieved a monthly new - energy vehicle sales volume as high as 117,000 vehicles, ranking among the top three in the industry, with a year - on - year surge of 50.1%. This not only set a new historical record but also achieved "four consecutive months of growth".
For a long time, the capital market has been accustomed to labeling Chery as an "established fuel - powered vehicle enterprise" or an "overseas expansion giant", but the latest data is shattering this stereotype. In fact, as early as 2024, according to Frost & Sullivan statistics, Chery became the only company among the top 20 global automotive enterprises to achieve a sales volume growth of over 25% in all four dimensions of new - energy vehicles, fuel - powered vehicles, the domestic market, and the overseas market.
While most automotive enterprises are still struggling in the difficult game between "protecting profits (from fuel - powered vehicles)" and "securing the future (with new - energy vehicles)", Chery seems to have found the code to reconcile the two. How exactly did it achieve this?
1. Fuel - powered Vehicles + Exports: A Solid Foundation for Cash Flow
In the current context where the global automotive industry landscape is being reshaped by the transformation to new - energy vehicles, Chery Automobile has demonstrated a rare strategic determination. Different from the radical transformation of some automotive enterprises, Chery has chosen a more stable path: By deeply cultivating the technological foundation of fuel - powered vehicles and making forward - looking global market layouts, it has built a stable dual - pillar system of "fuel - powered vehicles + exports". This strategy has not only brought abundant free cash flow to the company but also enabled it to respond more calmly to strategic challenges in the second half of the new - energy vehicle race.
Thanks to more than two decades of overseas layout, as of 2025, Chery has established more than ten production bases globally, with an overseas workforce of over ten thousand. With the launch of the joint - venture factory in Spain in November 2024, the company has achieved an innovation in the European model of "technology application output + local manufacturing". Meanwhile, the construction of Chery's overseas sales channels has also witnessed explosive growth, with the number of sales outlets soaring from 905 in 2022 to nearly 3,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
The intensive layout of overseas production capacity and sales channels has directly led to an exponential growth in sales volume: From 2021 to 2024, Chery's overseas sales volume jumped from 270,000 vehicles to 1.14 million vehicles, with an average annual compound growth rate as high as 62%. According to statistics from CICC, the proportion of the company's overseas revenue from passenger vehicles increased from 35% in 2022 to 40% in 2024 and continued to maintain this level in the first quarter of 2025.
In terms of market position, Chery has not only become the first Chinese self - owned brand automotive enterprise with overseas exports exceeding 5 million vehicles but also has ranked first in the overseas exports of Chinese self - owned brand passenger vehicles for 22 consecutive years, building an unshakable market barrier.
It is worth noting that in the fuel - powered vehicle market with intense competition for market share, Chery did not adopt a defensive strategy but achieved "secondary growth" through extreme technological iterations. As a self - owned brand automotive enterprise that developed China's first domestic special - purpose engine for passenger vehicles, Chery has always occupied a leading position in product strength in the industry due to its technological accumulation in fuel power. The Kunpeng Tianqing engine recently launched by the company has refreshed the global record with a thermal efficiency of 48%. According to the plan, the Kunpeng Tianqing hybrid engine will be mainly used in Chery's HEV (hybrid electric vehicle), PHEV (plug - in hybrid electric vehicle), and REEV (range - extended electric vehicle) platform product series.
In the context of the continuous increase in the market share of hybrid vehicles, a high - efficiency engine remains the core component determining the performance of hybrid vehicles. The application of Chery's leading engine is not only expected to fully open up the company's growth space in the hybrid vehicle market but also set a new benchmark for the overall technological upgrade of hybrid vehicles.
Overall, this combination of "a stable fuel - powered vehicle market + overseas growth" constitutes Chery's unique financial moat. Although the proportion of the company's new - energy vehicle exports in the export structure has increased to over 30% in 2025, the mature and high - margin fuel - powered vehicle business still plays a crucial "cash cow" role. Thanks to the continuous expansion of this stable market and the continuous contribution from the overseas market, Chery Group has been able to maintain abundant funds and resources during the industry price war, thus having more strategic flexibility in the long - distance race of new - energy vehicle transformation.
2. Taking the Long Road in Intelligentization
According to Frost & Sullivan's prediction, in the global passenger vehicle market, the sales volume of fuel - powered vehicles will decline from 55 million in 2025 to 47.8 million in 2030, while the sales volume of pure - electric and hybrid vehicles will rise from 20.8 million in 2025 to 42.3 million in 2030.
This means that although fuel - powered vehicles will still have a place in the market in the future, the decline in market size is inevitable, and the increase in the penetration rate of new - energy vehicles is also an irresistible trend. Therefore, for Chery, new - energy vehicles are no longer just a simple business expansion but a mandatory question concerning its future survival.
Looking back at history, Chery entered the new - energy vehicle field as early as 1999, actually being a pioneer in the industry. In 2023, Chery completed an important strategic shift. By launching the iCAR and Zhijie brands, creating a high - end series, Xingjiyuan, under the Xingtu brand, and establishing the Fengyun and Shanhai series under the two major main brands, Chery and Jetour, respectively, it has built a "hybrid + pure - electric" defense and offense system covering all market segments, trying to make up for the loss of its first - mover advantage through group - based combat.
According to an analysis by Zhongtai Securities, with the maturity and homogenization of the three - electric (battery, electric motor, and electric control) supply chain, the new - energy vehicle race after 2023 has bid farewell to the "first half" of simply competing in manufacturing and supply capabilities and has fully entered the "second half" centered on "demand - defining ability" and "intelligent level". Chery's new strategy precisely targets these two new key points:
On the demand side, Chery emphasizes "user co - creation". For example, the Fengyun A9L attracted more than 5 million users to participate in its global co - creation plan; the Jetour Traveler C - DM gathered more than 100,000 users, more than 150 industry experts, and more than 5,000 engineers to participate in the co - creation of the product definition and development process.
On the intelligent side, Chery relies on the three major intelligent technology bases of "data, models, and hardware" to accelerate the large - scale mass production of AI large - models and advanced driver assistance systems, promoting the equalization of technology.
In March 2025, Chery launched the Falcon Intelligent Driving System, planning to achieve full - brand and full - series coverage by the end of the year. Its core breakthrough lies in breaking the power boundary, promoting "equal intelligence for fuel - powered and new - energy vehicles". At the same time, the company's self - developed "Lingxi Intelligent Cockpit" has achieved efficient adaptation across models through a modular architecture and supports user customization, significantly enhancing the intelligent competitiveness of the entire product line.
The effectiveness of this series of strategic measures has also been strongly verified in the financial statements: From 2022 to 2024, the operating income of Chery Automobile's new - energy vehicles increased from 12.253 billion yuan to 58.931 billion yuan, and its proportion in the total operating income increased from 14.9% to 23.9%. As of the first half of 2025, this proportion continued to rise to 28.1%. In terms of sales volume, from January to November 2025, Chery Group sold a total of 2.5615 million vehicles, including 814,700 new - energy vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 69.4%, and the proportion of new - energy vehicle sales reached 31.81%.
However, in Chery's strategic chess game, the end - point of intelligent technology does not stop at "vehicles". Based on its profound technological accumulation in the field of automotive intelligentization, Chery can naturally enter the field of embodied intelligence, where the basic technology and supply chain are similar, opening up future imagination space.
This cross - border move is not just a concept hype but has entered the practical stage: According to Chery's disclosure, the product "Moyin" of its subsidiary, Chery Mojia Robotics Company, has become the world's first humanoid robot with both software and hardware certified in the entire EU region and has completed global mass delivery, landing in more than 30 overseas markets. Mojia Zhichuang Robotics takes "practical technology + real scenarios + human assistant" as its core strategy, layouts ten application scenarios, and builds a vehicle - machine collaborative architecture and a multi - form product matrix. On December 9th, Chery Mojia Robotics Company delivered a new batch of 120 robotic dogs, Argos. So far, the cumulative delivery volume this year has exceeded 1,000 units, marking a new stage in the large - scale application of Argos.
According to the plan, it is expected that by 2030, Chery will achieve global sales of more than 40,000 robots and more than 90,000 robotic dogs respectively.
3. Multi - brand Collaboration: The Matrix Effect Appears
Different from general consumer goods, the automotive industry is characterized by a wide price range, diverse power forms, and highly differentiated consumer demands. For new players in the industry, entering a single market segment is often a shortcut to quickly establish a foothold; but for Chery, an established automotive enterprise with more than two decades of industry experience, only through continuous product iterations and all - round market expansion can it achieve stable performance growth in the long - term.
Based on this strategic orientation, Chery Automobile has built a brand matrix covering the entire market, accurately capturing the needs of different customer groups through differentiated positioning. Among them, the main brand "Chery" serves as the company's foundation, focusing on the mainstream mass market; "Jetour" deeply cultivates the travel + off - road market segment, mainly targeting the demand for household hardcore SUVs; "Xingtu" shoulders the heavy responsibility of brand upgrading, targeting the mid - to - high - end market and has now been incorporated into the Chery brand; the pure - electric brand "iCAR" accurately enters the hardcore off - road market of young consumers with its cost - effective "square - box" shape; and "Zhijie", which has in - depth cooperation with Huawei, is committed to meeting the market's advanced demand for cutting - edge intelligentization. So far, Chery has formed a complete ecosystem with multi - brand collaboration and seamless price - band connection.
Figure: Chery's brand layout. Source: Zhongtai Securities, compiled by 36Kr
Driven by both the profound fuel - technology heritage and the intelligent transformation, Chery Group has shown strong explosive power. The monthly sales volume of its core brands has all exceeded 10,000 units. The latest data shows that the Chery brand continues to lead with a monthly sales volume of 165,500 units, and the Jetour, Xingtu, Zhijie, and iCAR brands have also presented excellent results of 55,100 units, 12,000 units, 11,800 units, and 11,400 units respectively.
In order to break the past dependence on fuel - powered vehicles and accelerate the electrification transformation, in July 2025, Chery officially upgraded the "Fengyun" series to an independent brand. This measure has initially shown results.
According to CICC statistics, the Fengyun A9L quickly exceeded monthly sales of 10,000 units with its extreme cost - effectiveness, and the Fengyun T9 has maintained monthly sales of over 5,000 units. With the launch of the high - end model, Fengyun T11, it is expected to further open up growth space. Thanks to this, the new - energy vehicle penetration rate of the Chery brand has risen from about 25% at the beginning of 2025 to over 30% in October. Looking forward, the Fengyun brand will continue to play an "accelerator" role and become the key engine driving the structural growth of the new - energy vehicle business of the Chery brand and even the entire group.
Figure: Sales volume of Chery's main brand and the corresponding proportion of new - energy vehicle sales. Source: CICC, compiled by 36Kr
4. A Sample for Value Re - evaluation
Chery's "counter - intuitive" report card provides a highly valuable research sample for the capital market: Using the high - quality cash flow from "fuel - powered vehicles + exports" to support the strategic investment in "new - energy vehicles + intelligentization", and then reshaping the brand value through the large - scale implementation of new technologies.
This logic has effectively broken the paradox of the mutual exclusion of profitability and growth that commonly exists during the transformation period of the automotive industry. With the rise of new - energy brands such as Fengyun and Zhijie and the full - series penetration of intelligent driving technology, the company's revenue structure is undergoing a qualitative change - smoothly transitioning from relying on a single fuel - powered vehicle business to a diversified revenue model with a combination of fuel - powered and new - energy vehicles and parallel development at home and abroad.
From the valuation perspective, the equalization of the revenue structure has also promoted Chery's shift from the traditional cyclical manufacturing logic to the technology - driven growth logic. That is, the fuel - powered vehicle and overseas businesses with stable cash flow serve as a safety cushion to obtain a certain valuation, while the high - growth new - energy and intelligent businesses obtain a growth premium. The two are expected to jointly drive the value re - evaluation of Chery in the capital market.
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