Automotive Industry · Full chronicle and history

According to a report by the Financial Times on October 15, Citroën plans to launch a €15,000 all-electric 2CV in 2028, while Volkswagen will introduce the €25,000 ID.Polo; Chinese brands took about one-third of the stands at the Paris Motor Show for the first time, and AlixPartners expects them to account for 16% of European sales by 2030. Changan plans to expand production in Europe, and Chery will start production in Spain.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a document demanding an end to the phenomenon of "instant cars" in the auto industry, and will launch a one-year special rectification and improvement campaign on vehicle quality and reliability.

China and the EU recently reached an arrangement on import quotas for Chinese hybrid vehicles, against the backdrop of EU concerns over the impact of low-priced Chinese goods on domestic industries.

On September 15, Reuters reported that China's vehicle manufacturing profit margin has fallen to 1.5%, a ten-year low. Despite a 9.13% increase in revenue in the first half of the year, GAC Group reported a net loss of 4.467 billion yuan. On September 14, GAC announced plans to acquire equity in a joint-venture automaker under FAW Group; market speculation suggests the target may be FAW Toyota, aiming to promote the integration of northern and southern Toyota operations.

In the first half of 2026, China's domestic auto sales were only 9.92 million units, a year-on-year decline of 21.1%, a drop larger than the 16.6% recorded during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020.

In 2026, China's vehicle manufacturing profit margin fell to 1.5%. Total profits in the first half dropped to 39.4 billion yuan from 137 billion yuan in the same period of 2021, a decline of over 70%, on par with the level during the 2008 financial crisis.

Under the impact of domestically produced electric vehicles, joint-venture brands' sales in the Chinese domestic market fell 44.1% in July 2026.

Master Kong reported instant noodle business revenue of over 13.7 billion yuan, up 2% year on year; Uni-President reported food business revenue of over 5.6 billion yuan, up 4.7% year on year.

According to a blogger's statistics, China's auto sales in August 2026 were about 100 million fewer than in the same period of 2021, wiping out all the gains of the five years, and have now declined for the 9th consecutive month. Auto consumption is collapsing at an accelerating pace, reflecting weak domestic demand.

Data monitored by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows that in July, both retail sales and manufacturer wholesale volumes in the national passenger car market plunged 18% year-on-year, while retail sales shrank 28% month-on-month.

The China Passenger Car Market Information Joint Branch released May market data: national passenger car retail sales totaled 1.51 million units, a sharp year-on-year decline of 22.1%, setting a record of eight consecutive months of year-on-year decline and reflecting the continued weakness of domestic consumer demand.

Geely completed the acquisition of Volvo for $1.8 billion, with local state-owned capital from Daqing and Jiading, Shanghai, participating in the funding and securing commitments for industrial bases.