Soochow: The passenger car industry needs to wait for improvement, with strong export resilience.

Soochow released a research report stating that the product structure of the passenger car industry can withstand domestic pressure. The downward pressure on total domestic demand for the whole year still exists, and the price increase of upstream raw materials still has a negative impact on the profits of car companies. From a yearly perspective, it is advisable for car companies to focus on high-end price bands with relatively less impact structurally. The proportion of export sales in total sales continues to increase, and overseas sales have become an important source of incremental growth for the company. It is preferable to prioritize car companies that meet the two above conditions or one of them. Key points from Soochow's report: Electric data tracking: Industry prosperity in April 2026 meets expectations In April 2026, retail sales in the industry were lower than expected (passenger car retail sales were 1.34 million, down 18.8% year-on-year and 6.6% month-on-month); wholesale sales were also below expectations (passenger car wholesale sales were 2.11 million, down 3.7% year-on-year and 11.3% month-on-month). Retail sales of new energy vehicles in April met expectations, with a penetration rate of 61.1%, up 5.4 percentage points month-on-month (wholesale penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached 58.1%, up 9.9 percentage points month-on-month). Inventory in the passenger car industry increased by 0.1 million units in April. Both export and new energy export performance in April exceeded expectations, with industry exports up 81.8% year-on-year (including new energy exports up 115% year-on-year). Globalization data tracking: Geely's export growth rate is impressive Regional penetration rate of new energy vehicles worldwide: In April 2026, passenger car sales in Russia and the Middle East increased month-on-month; the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in regions other than Southeast Asia and the Middle East increased month-on-month, mainly due to geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East pushing up oil prices + continuation of European subsidy policies. Chinese car companies export: In April 2026, Chinese car companies exported 796,000 passenger cars, with 358,000 units being new energy passenger cars, and the penetration rate of new energy reaching 45.1%. Geely's export performance in April exceeded expectations. Risk warning: Risks related to overseas exports include geopolitical uncertainties, exchange rate risks, trade policy risks, etc.