Over 60% of A-share complete vehicle enterprises achieved net profit growth in Q1, with policy dividends and technological breakthroughs becoming the momentum for growth

In Q1 2025, driven by both policy dividends and technological breakthroughs, China's automotive industry demonstrated strong growth momentum.

According to statistics from Cailian Press, among 16 A-share listed automakers, 10 achieved YoY growth in net profit attributable to parent company shareholders in Q1 2025, accounting for 62.5%. Among them, BYD led with a growth rate of 100.38%, SAIC Motor's net profit increased by 11.40% YoY, and Changan Automobile's net profit attributable to parent company shareholders excluding non-recurring gains and losses surged by 601.31% YoY. Top-tier enterprises achieved rapid performance growth through entire industry chain layouts, intelligent technology empowerment, and globalization strategies.

BYD, ranking first in both revenue and net profit, achieved a net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 9.155 billion yuan in Q1 2025, up 100.38% YoY, with revenue exceeding 170.3 billion yuan, up 36.35% YoY.

This high performance growth was attributed to BYD's continuous rise in global sales. In Q1 2025, BYD's auto sales reached 1.0008 million units, up 60% YoY. Among them, overseas sales of BYD's passenger vehicles and pickups exceeded 200,000 units, up 110% YoY. BYD's annual auto sales target for 2025 is 5.5 million units, with overseas markets expected to be a significant growth driver, aiming for 800,000 units in sales.

In Q1 2025, BYD's R&D expenses reached 14.223 billion yuan, exceeding its net profit for the same period. It has become a norm for BYD to have higher R&D investment than net profit. Over the past 14 years, BYD's R&D investment exceeded its net profit in 13 years. As of the end of Q1 2025, its cumulative R&D investment had surpassed 190 billion yuan.

Supported by long-term high-intensity R&D investment, BYD has successively launched innovative technologies such as the "Tianshenzhiyan" combined assisted driving system, the "Lingyuan" in-car drone system, the Super e-platform, and megawatt flash charging since entering 2025. In the eyes of industry insiders, BYD has enhanced the market competitiveness of its products by bringing cutting-edge technologies to the mainstream market through its "technological democratization" strategy.

As a representative of traditional enterprise transformation, SAIC Motor achieved revenue of 140.86 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 3.02 billion yuan in Q1 2025, up 11.4% YoY, with net profit attributable to parent company shareholders excluding non-recurring gains and losses reaching 2.85 billion yuan, up 34.4% YoY.

Financial reports show that SAIC implemented comprehensive deepening reforms in 2024. By the end of Q1 2025, while selling 945,000 complete vehicles, SAIC Motor's cumulative terminal deliveries exceeded 1.08 million units. In terms of new energy, 273,000 NEVs were sold in Q1, up nearly 30% YoY, with 126,000 units sold in March, up over 40% both YoY and MoM.In Q1, SAIC's self-owned brand vehicle sales reached 601,000 units, up 28.4% YoY, accounting for 63.6% of SAIC's total sales, a 7.5 percentage point increase from the same period in 2024.

"Driven by the wave of electric and intelligent technology, 'equal rights' has become a buzzword in the automotive industry over the past two years," said Wang Xiaoqiu, Chairman of SAIC Motor. SAIC Motor will continue to collaborate with its joint venture partners such as Volkswagen and GM, while also joining forces with cross-industry partners like Huawei, Momenta, Horizon Robotics, and ByteDance to create a new industrial ecosystem.

The "Fifth Realm" SAIC Shangjie, jointly developed by Huawei and SAIC, has garnered significant industry attention. SAIC Shangjie adopts Huawei's Smart Selection Car Model, leveraging Huawei's intelligent mobility solutions in the technology sector to provide an intelligent travel experience. SAIC's expertise in automotive R&D, production processes, and quality management will ensure the quality of Shangjie. According to the plan, its first car model will be launched in the autumn of 2025, expected to open up new growth opportunities for SAIC.

In addition to BYD and SAIC, automakers such as Changan Automobile, Seres, Foton Motor, Yutong Bus, and Zhongtong Bus all achieved YoY growth in net profit attributable to their parent companies in Q1. From the overall performance of the automotive market in Q1 2025, vehicle production and sales reached 7.561 million and 7.47 million units respectively, up 14.5% and 11.2% YoY. The automotive industry's revenue reached 2,402.2 billion yuan, with profits totaling 94.7 billion yuan.

Policy dividends have also been a significant driving force behind the positive performance of the market and enterprises in Q1. On January 6, 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance promptly allocated the first batch of ultra-long-term special treasury bond funds to local governments to support the smooth transition of year-end policies and the continuation of funding, achieving remarkable results in accelerating and expanding the scope of trade-in policies for consumer goods. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, as of 24:00 on April 27, 2.814 million vehicles had been traded in nationwide.

"Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has generally maintained an expansionary trend, with both supply and demand accelerating their release," said Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary General of CAAM. "In Q1, a series of policy measures to boost automotive consumption have been extended and accelerated in implementation. The consumer market has improved in quality, enterprises have intensively launched new products, consumer confidence has strengthened, and production and sales have shown double-digit growth, indicating a good start for the automotive industry."