Several indicators can be used to gauge the globalization of the automotive market: shipments, sales volume, and penetration rate, each offering unique insights. However, now that Chinese automakers have achieved notable success overseas, even in traditionally conservative markets, it is time to emphasize and elevate the concept of 'vehicle parity.'

The focus should not be solely on current figures but on the mindset of overseas consumers when they own Chinese-brand vehicles. This mindset is crucial for achieving 'compounded growth.'

Automobiles are distinct from smartphones and home appliances. While the transaction occurs at the point of purchase, the realization of value extends over several to over a dozen years of use. Factors such as maintenance convenience, spare parts availability, financing accessibility, and residual value after a few years all influence subsequent purchase decisions, making the growth mechanism inherently more complex.

Just as the internet relies on user connections to generate network effects, the automotive industry leverages the vehicle population on roads to amplify operational returns. More vehicles lead to better after-sales service, a stable supply of spare parts, increased financing options, easier used car pricing, and a higher likelihood of repurchase among existing users. A continuously expanding user network is the best reward for long-term overseas expansion.

From this perspective, the overseas expansion of Chinese automakers is not merely about relocating domestic products for sale but requires a transformation in operational logic: converting one-time orders into long-term assets in local markets and transforming manufacturing efficiency into tangible user value that can be repeatedly perceived.

Leading companies are now focusing on this aspect.

I. Auto Exports Have Their Own 'Network Effects'

The domestic market is fiercely competitive, with rapid product updates and frequent price changes in the new energy sector, necessitating continuous efforts to secure new orders. In contrast, overseas markets operate at a slower pace, offering opportunities for leveraging market advantages from high-end to low-end and from fast to slow.

Thus, the significance of overseas markets extends beyond providing a larger sales area; they offer longer operational cycles. As long as products remain in use locally, early adopters become the foundation for subsequent promotion, maintenance, resale, and repurchase.

Macroscopically, by 2025, China's auto exports are projected to surpass 7 million units, ranking first globally for three consecutive years. By August 2026, Chinese passenger vehicle exports reached 888,000 units, including 518,000 new energy passenger vehicles. The accelerated penetration over the years, particularly the changes brought by leading companies like Chery, BYD, and Geely to overseas markets, is subtly reshaping global perceptions of Chinese vehicles.

Take BYD as an example. In the first half of 2026, its overseas automotive revenue reached RMB 181.268 billion, accounting for 52.57% of its automotive revenue, surpassing domestic revenue for the first time. It exported approximately 792,000 vehicles, accounting for about 43.8% of total sales.

BYD is simultaneously expanding its product lineup, retail networks, logistics, charging infrastructure, and local factories. It plans to establish 90,000 flash charging stations by 2028, with manufacturing bases in Hungary, Brazil, Thailand, and Indonesia underway.

Charging networks and local manufacturing are not mere add-ons to sales data. For new energy vehicles, users purchase not just a vehicle but also an assessment of future usage costs and convenience. Charging networks alleviate range anxiety, while local factories shorten delivery and maintenance cycles, with spare parts and after-sales systems determining the vehicle's long-term usability.

Thus, BYD's overseas competition and progress extend beyond showrooms into the daily lives of vehicle owners.

Unlike BYD, Chery did not initially rely on new energy technology but on long-term overseas channel and regional market operations. By the end of August 2026, Chery's cumulative historical exports exceeded 7.18 million units, with 196,984 units exported that month, accounting for 70.3% of total sales.

The value of this vehicle population lies in the company's deeper understanding of road conditions, climate, driving habits, and channel relationships in different countries over time.

For instance, Chery considers regulations and usage environments during global model development, conducting tests for Southeast Asian monsoons, Middle Eastern high temperatures, and Siberian cold snaps, and adapting to right-hand drive in Thailand and European parking habits. Such efforts, though less conspicuous than new model launches, determine whether vehicles are merely purchased or retained for long-term use.

Geely, with its acquisition-plus-self-research strategy, has also created a unique globalization pattern. By mid-2026, Geely operated 12 overseas manufacturing plants covering 114 core markets, with over 2,000 offline channels. In August, it exported 110,100 vehicles, up 205% year-on-year. Relying on multi-brand, cross-regional manufacturing, and industrial synergy, Geely has developed an organizational approach to allocate resources across different markets.

From these companies, we see that overseas sales are just the starting point for vehicle parity growth. Channels, maintenance, financing, residual value, and reputation are the conditions for compounded growth. Those who can convert initial vehicle sales into a stable vehicle population will reduce future customer acquisition costs and achieve higher user retention during replacement cycles.

II. A New Way to Interpret Automotive Value

During the era of fuel-powered vehicles (internal combustion engine vehicles), core competitive advantages lay in engines, transmissions, chassis, and brand accumulation. New energy vehicles have transformed value creation: batteries, electric drivetrains, electronic/electrical architectures, intelligent cockpits, and software services jointly determine user experience, altering development cycles, parts relationships, and product iteration speeds.

As battery industry scale, electronic manufacturing capabilities, supply chain integrity, and large-market iteration speeds enable faster complex product organization, companies respond differently.

BYD maintains a high proportion of self-supplied core components, controlling batteries, electric drivetrains, costs, and delivery. Chery integrates regional regulations and scenarios into the R&D phase. Geely expands the reach of technology and manufacturing through multi-brand and cross-regional resource allocation.

This leads to a second overarching conclusion: New energy vehicle exports are not just about changing exported product categories but about how the automotive industry enters new markets.

Previously, latecomers needed years of accumulation along established technical paths to gain market recognition. New energy vehicles shift the competitive focus to batteries, electronics, software, and manufacturing synergy, enabling companies to enter mature markets with new capability combinations. Chinese automakers gain not just sales opportunities for certain models but potentially new entry points into the global automotive division of labor.

However, due to vastly different market foundations, overseas operations cannot simply replicate domestic product rhythms. Local road conditions, climate, regulations, income levels, credit methods, and usage habits vary.

The smarter new energy vehicles become, the heavier the responsibility on companies. Battery safety, winter range, fast-charging efficiency, software updates, data processing, and accident liability all influence consumer perceptions of brand reliability.

Thus, effective product adaptation goes beyond language and steering wheel changes; vehicles must operate stably in local everyday scenarios.

Using the three companies as examples, Chery's regional testing better illustrates global model development logic than mere configuration increases. BYD's charging infrastructure construction reduces long-term user concerns more than one-time promotions. Geely's overseas factory and channel expansion address delivery, maintenance, and spare parts supply continuity.

Additionally, an immature issue remains: residual value. This refers not to vehicle scrapping but to secondary circulation—a key consideration for consumers. Secondary market performance is also a crucial decision-making facilitator.

In mature markets like the UK, where auto financing penetration is high, many users reassess vehicle value after three to four years. New brands that rely solely on low prices for initial orders but fail to maintain used car prices, warranty commitments, and maintenance efficiency will face concentrated pressure as sales grow. Conversely, stable quality, service coverage, and battery guarantees support residual value, converting vehicle population into brand credibility.

In the future, automakers must focus not just on 'how fast new cars sell' but on a vehicle's total lifecycle value: purchase cost, energy cost, maintenance cost, insurance cost, resale value, and repurchase willingness. New energy vehicle competition is shifting from initial product appeal to certainty throughout the lifecycle.

III. The New Phase's Watershed: Operational Assetization

As exports transition from exploration to scaling operations, companies encounter a new watershed: whether orders can generate long-term assets.

What defines long-term assets? First, they are hard, heavy assets. Local factories are a symbol but not the sole answer.

BYD's manufacturing base expansion in Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia reduces tariffs and transportation costs. More profoundly, it shortens delivery chains, promotes parts localization, cultivates service teams, and fosters stable partnerships with dealers, suppliers, and local institutions. By becoming a long-term participant in local production and service networks, companies can transform operational quality.

Geely's overseas layout similarly demonstrates that global operations involve coordinating R&D, manufacturing, sales, financing, training, and maintenance across regions. While headquarters maintain safety, quality, and brand standards, regional teams must adapt to local regulations and consumer habits. Establishing such organizational relationships often determines business longevity more than short-term sales of specific models.

Chery's value lies in regional market operations. By accumulating user populations through channels, product matrices, and local adaptations, it shows that companies need not become global brands first to conduct global business. Building stable product reputation and service density in select markets before expanding to similar regions can be more effective than pursuing full coverage initially.

Thus, automotive overseas operations can be measured by a formula closer to industry essence:

Overseas Operational Value = Initial Transaction × Usage Cycle × Service Density × Residual Value Trust

'Initial Transaction' determines market entry; 'Usage Cycle' determines income and reputation continuity; 'Service Density' determines problem resolution for users; 'Residual Value Trust' determines whether dealers, financial institutions, and subsequent consumers remain engaged. If any term approaches zero, previous investments may not yield full returns.

Rather than seeking new orders, overseas expansion seeks new operational time—ultimately aiming to win consumer cycles, not just short-term sales peaks.

The domestic market has honed new energy product development speed, supply chain efficiency, and manufacturing capabilities. Overseas, it demands longer-term proof of product reliability, service stability, and regulatory adaptability. BYD represents industrial capability extension, Chery represents regional operational accumulation, and Geely represents cross-regional organizational synergy. The company that builds the largest ecological circle truly understands the essence of this phase's overseas expansion.

Source: Songguo Finance