Industry data shows that Chinese car manufacturers are facing double pressure from the upstream supply chain and price wars. Companies like BYD and Geely have initiated a new round of price war for electric vehicles priced around 100,000 RMB.
Geely has unveiled a new generation AI supplementary energy technology called “Geely Intelligent Charging,” with a peak charging power of 2.2 megawatts, nearly 50% higher than BYD’s 1.5 megawatts. It takes only 8 minutes and 40 seconds for the battery to charge from 10% to 97%, 20 seconds faster than BYD.
Unlike BYD’s emphasis on cell iteration with “cell core priority,” Geely is focusing on system architecture. BYD’s solution has been widely adopted in the 100,000-150,000 RMB range. The new Geely Intelligent Charging technology will first be available in the all-new Geely Galaxy E5 starting at 97,800 RMB, with the smart charging version starting at 107,800 RMB.
However, the scale of infrastructure remains a key factor in the competition between the two. By September, BYD had built over 11,000 fast-charging stations with a target of 20,000 by the end of the year. In comparison, Geely currently has around 2,500 charging stations, but plans to build over 22,000 charging stations by the end of 2027.
Currently, electric vehicles in the 100,000 RMB range have become the first choice for many young users and families for commuting. The market is undergoing an industrial transformation from simply lowering prices to a comprehensive shift towards “technology, range, and intelligent driving.” Faced with the strong competition from BYD and Geely, major mainstream car manufacturers are intensifying price wars through different strategies.
Chery Automobile has introduced a native global pure electric SUV, bringing the price war to the dimension of “range regardless of trim level.” The new vehicle directly lowers the threshold for a 600km (CLTC) ultra-long range to the 90,000 RMB level, with a standard 65.05kWh rhinoceros battery across the lineup, overturning the industry’s past practice of “reducing range in lower trims.” Additionally, the high-end model with a starting price of 115,900 RMB comes with a lifetime warranty for three key electric components.
Wuling’s Rongguo PLUS starts at 83,800 RMB and stands out by offering a rare 510km (CLTC) long-range version in the under 100,000 RMB segment, supporting a spacious practical loading space by folding down the rear seats to cater to the practical home use market.
The previously evergreen Guangqi AEAN Y Plus starts at 99,800 RMB and competes by directly offering cash discounts of 5,000 to 15,000 RMB to tackle the competition.
Leapmotor has launched the Leapmotor B10 (pure electric SUV) and Leapmotor B01 (pure electric sedan) in the 100,000 RMB segment market. Its strategy involves for the first time combining “laser radar + Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip” high-end intelligent driving features in the sub-100,000 RMB market.
Xiaopeng Motors’ MONA M03, with AI cockpit, advanced driving assistance systems, and aggressive pricing, has become one of the top choices for tech enthusiasts in the 100,000 RMB electric vehicle market.
A recent article in the Chinese “Finance and Economics” magazine analyzed the dynamics of the Chinese automotive industry. In the domestic market, 15 major passenger car listed companies had a total operating income of 1.3866 trillion RMB in the first half of the year, with a total net profit of 21.8 billion RMB, and a net profit margin of 1.52%. This data is consistent with the estimation of Chen Shihua, Vice Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Chen Shihua had previously stated at an industry event that the average profit margin in the first half of 2026 for the entire vehicle manufacturing sector had dropped to 1.5%, a 43% year-on-year decrease, hitting a nearly decade-low.
The article noted that the significant drop in profit margins is mainly due to rising costs. Executives from companies like NIO, Ideal, and Xpeng have publicly acknowledged the increased prices of core components such as batteries and chips, which have brought significant cost pressures to companies. Moreover, intense market competition in the first half of the year forced car companies to heavily discount and promote sales, compressing their profits. Data from the China Passenger Car Market Information Joint Committee (CPCA) showed that the price reductions for new energy vehicles reached 12%, while conventional fuel vehicles saw a reduction of 14.1%, resulting in an overall new car price reduction of 12.6% in the passenger car market.
The article contended that globally, the differentiation remains significant. During the same period, 12 major multinational car companies achieved a total net profit of about 247.3 billion RMB, with an average net profit margin of 3.91%. Toyota of Japan alone realized a net profit of approximately 72.37 billion RMB in the first fiscal quarter of this year (April to June 2026), which is about six times the profit of the most profitable Chinese car company BYD and surpasses the total profits of all 15 listed Chinese car companies combined.