Companies in the GBA｜GAC Group: How did the “King of E-Hailing” get out of the woods?

南方财经全媒体记者杨雨莱广州报道

Whenyoulookaroundatyourfriends,howmanyhavealreadyboughtnewenergyvehicles(NEVs),andbecomeabsolutefans? 

Inthefirstthreequartersof2023,thepenetrationrateofNEVshasreached29.8%,whilein2020,thenumber wasonly5.4%.Thatistosay,injustthreeyears,itachievedanearfivefoldincrease.

Theeraofelectrificationhasarrived!Forjoint-ventureautomobileenterprisesmakingalateentranceontotheelectrificationtrack,makingheadwaycanbearealchallenge,sincetheirmarketsharecontinuestodecline. 

AsastandardJVautofirminChina,GACGroupwasnotunaffected.TheGrouphada22.1%year-over-yearjumpinrevenueforthefirstthreequarters of2023,whilenetprofitattributabletotheparentcompanydroppedby44%.Towhatistheincreaseinrevenue,butalossinnetprofit?GACGroupblamestheyear-over-yeardropinvehiclesaleswithJVenterprisesandfewergains.

WhilemostautoJVsarefacingtransformationchallenges,theself-ownedbrandswhichGACGrouphasworkedonforyearsarenowrapidlygainingpopularity.Datashowthatin2022,Guangzhoumade313,700NEVs,Amongwhichover270,000vehiclesare GACAION,theGroup’s PureElectricVehicle(PEV)brand,accountingfor86%ofthetotalvehiclesproduced,andmakingitthemainengineforGuangzhou’sNEVsdevelopment.

FromJanuarytoNovemberof2023, thetotalsalesofGACAIONreached434,056units, surging 80% onayearlybasis. Whilesalesaresoaring, AIONhasalsobrokenthecurseof“allpain,nogain”amongPEVenterprises. BeginninginJuneof2023,GACAIONhasachievedcontinuousmonthlyprofits, becomingthefirstofitskind toachieveprofitabilityinChina. Duetotherelativelylower prices andmaintenance, AIONenjoyed exceptionalsalesintheonlinehailingmarket, yetit wasalsoawkwardlylabeledasthe“KingofE-Hailing”.

Eagertosheditselfofthislabel,AIONisworkingtocatchtheeyeoftheaverageconsumer.Thereleaseofthehigh-endbrandHyperhasmarkedAION’sofficialmarchintothemiddleandhigh-endmarket.GACMotor,theotherstellarself-ownedbrandoftheGroup,hasalsoenjoyedgoodperformance.Inthefirst11monthsof2023,thetotalsalesofGACMotorroseby14.4%.Behindthe“swiftsuccess”ofitsself-ownedbrandsisGACGroup’slong-terminvestmentintechnologyinnovation.Asitstands,GACGrouphasinvestedover42billionyuanintoindependentR&D.

GACGrouphasbeenlistedintheFortuneGlobal500for11yearsinarow,sittingon165inthelatestranking.Basedonitsstellarachievementsinthedomesticautomarket,GACGrouphasalsoaccelerateditsexpansionintooverseasmarkets.AsofAugust2023,GACGrouphascompletedfulldeploymentin30countries,includingthoseintheMiddleEast,Asia,Europe,Africa,andAmerica.

However,confrontedwithfiercecompetition,overseasexpansionwon’tbeentirelysmoothsailing.In2022,China’sautoexportsreached3.11millionunits,withonly33,000ofthosebeingfromGACGroup,whichaccountsforlessthan1.1%.signalingalongwayaheadonitsjourneytosailabroad.

ForanenterpriselikeGACGroup,supportedbythetwomainpillarsofjointventuresandself-ownedbrands, beingattheforefrontofthedomesticelectrificationcompetitionisnosmallfeat. HowwillitmakeheadwayinthetideofChineseautoenterprisesexpandingoverseas? Theanswerwillbeworthto wait.

出品：南财国际传播中心21新媒体中心创意互动中心

策划统筹：于晓娜丁青云

内容统筹：谭婷梁宇芳谢珍

责任编辑：金珊

执行统筹：黄欣然 

设计统筹：林军明

视频统筹：白宇航

监制：施诗

英文翻译&配音：李莹亮

海外运营监制:黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹:黄子豪

运营支持：曾静娇

审校：强燕魏雯静黄志明