SAIC Q3 profit sinks 77% despite 59% overseas jump, as BYD and Geely grow 28%

SAIC Motor (SHA: 600104) earned 485.5 million CNY (c. $72.3 million) in the third quarter of 2026, down 76.70% from a year earlier, its quarterly report published on October 29, 2026 showed. Over the same three months, its overseas sales, which include exports and cars built at its plants abroad, rose about 59% to 430,912 vehicles from 271,016 a year earlier, by our calculation from its monthly sales filings.

SAIC was not alone. Of eight leading listed Chinese automakers that reported in late October, only BYD, Geely and Chery grew third-quarter profit from a year earlier, with Chery's figure an estimate since it does not report quarters. Great Wall Motor, Changan, GAC and Seres all earned less or lost money, and at several of them, rising overseas volume did not carry through to profit.

SAIC's core business did worse than the headline. Profit excluding one-off items was 69.5 million CNY (c. $10.4 million), down 95.89%, and revenue fell 7.34% to 154.63 billion CNY (c. $23.03 billion). The company blamed fair-value changes on financial assets and exchange losses in its overseas business.

SAIC's joint ventures kept shrinking. SAIC Volkswagen sold 492,643 vehicles in the first nine months, down 34.52%, and SAIC-GM sold 340,944, down 10.44%. Overseas sales over the same period reached 1,165,588, up 52.36%, which SAIC said is already more than its overseas total for all of 2025. SAIC said MG alone sold more than 280,000 cars in Europe in the nine months, up 23%.

Changan and GAC were in the red for the quarter; Q3 2025 bars are derived from reported growth rates, and both Chery bars are estimates (chart based on company filings)

Great Wall Motor (SHA: 601633) earned 1.36 billion CNY (c. $202.8 million) in the quarter, down 40.75%, on revenue down 5.68% to 57.77 billion CNY (c. $8.60 billion). Great Wall sold 184,551 of its 336,407 third-quarter vehicles overseas, about 55%, by our calculation from its June and September filings. The company said profit fell because the domestic market remains under pressure, even as overseas sales grew.

Changan Automobile (SHE: 000625) swung to a third-quarter loss of 758.1 million CNY (c. $112.9 million), from a profit a year earlier, as revenue fell 14.17% to 36.25 billion CNY (c. $5.40 billion). For the nine months, it cited lower sales, higher raw material prices and bigger exchange losses. Its nine-month finance costs were 647.2 million CNY, against net finance income of 2.07 billion CNY a year earlier. In September, 94,195 of its 215,427 sales, about 44%, went overseas.

GAC Group (SHA: 601238) lost 2.52 billion CNY (c. $375.4 million) in the quarter, a loss 42.09% larger than a year earlier, even though revenue rose 17.91% to 28.42 billion CNY (c. $4.23 billion). Stripping out one-off items, including 1.17 billion CNY (before tax) of gains on financial assets, the loss was 3.39 billion CNY. GAC pointed to launch spending at its new Qijing brand, weaker joint-venture brands, exchange losses and larger inventory write-downs.

Those write-downs totaled 1.354 billion CNY for the first nine months, mainly on inventory, GAC said. GAC's September sales release showed the joint-venture slide is steepest at GAC Honda, whose nine-month sales fell 56.82% to 96,672.

Seres (SHA: 601127) reported a profit that hides a loss. Net profit was 1.42 billion CNY (c. $211.5 million), down 40.12% from a year earlier, but excluding one-off items it lost 1.37 billion CNY (c. $203.4 million). The quarter included a 2.61 billion CNY gain on disposing of non-current assets, and Seres said a former subsidiary leaving its consolidated accounts had added to one-off gains. Revenue fell 41.66% to 28.08 billion CNY on lower new energy vehicle sales, leaving a nine-month net loss of 296.9 million CNY.

The three growers had their own warning signs. BYD (HKG: 1211) earned 10.02 billion CNY (c. $1.49 billion), up 28.08%, as it exported 180,538, 189,466 and 180,700 vehicles in July, August and September, or 550,704 in total. Its inventories rose 60.08% to 221.58 billion CNY from the end of 2025, which BYD put down mainly to stocking for overseas growth, and its nine-month profit was still down 4.24%.

Geely Automobile (HKG: 0175) grew third-quarter profit attributable to shareholders 28% to 4.84 billion CNY (c. $720.5 million), against a restated year-earlier figure, on revenue up 10% to 98.96 billion CNY and sales up 7% to 812,523 vehicles. Its exports were 106,685 in September, up 162%, and 797,670 in the first nine months, up 169%. Geely said net exchange losses of 1.13 billion CNY in nine months, against 3.34 billion CNY of gains a year earlier, were the main reason its nine-month core profit rose 41% while reported profit rose 7%.

The Geely EX2 compact electric SUV in left-hand-drive form, from the brand's global media kit (Geely)

Chery Automobile (HKG: 9973) does not report quarters separately. Its nine-month profit attributable to shareholders fell 2.8% to 13.96 billion CNY (c. $2.08 billion), even as revenue rose 12.29% to 241.23 billion CNY. Subtracting first-half profit of 8.57 billion CNY gives an estimated third quarter of about 5.40 billion CNY (c. $803.7 million), up about 16%, by our calculation. In September, 200,928 of its 276,949 sales, about 73%, were exports.

Exchange rates are the thread running through the filings. SAIC and GAC named exchange losses as a drag on the quarter, while in the nine months Great Wall cited exchange-rate swings and Changan cited bigger exchange losses, and Chery booked 3.17 billion CNY (c. $472.3 million) of net exchange losses in nine months, against 2.97 billion CNY of gains a year earlier. Geely and Chery, two of the three growers, both went from exchange gains a year earlier to losses this year.

Costs at home are rising too. Seres cited higher prices for core electric vehicle components and nine-month research spending of 5.69 billion CNY (c. $847.5 million), and Changan named higher raw material prices. Even the growers are spending more: Chery's nine-month research and development costs rose about 40% to 11.05 billion CNY, and Geely's rose about 23% to 14.44 billion CNY, by our calculation from their filings.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7138 CNY as of October 30, 2026.