Rising materials costs are denting the bottom lines of price war-plagued Chinese electric vehicle makers while their suppliers are reaping big gains, the latest earnings guidance filings show.
BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology, a unit of state-owned Beijing Auto focused on what China calls new energy vehicles, said on July 14 that its net loss for the first six months will be in the range of RMB 1.77–1.97 billion (USD 261.1–290.6 million). This is only marginally better than the RMB 2.33 billion (USD 343.8 million) net loss for the same period a year ago, even though production rose nearly 38%, to 93,670 vehicles, and sales rose 7.3%, to 98,895 cars.
The Shanghai-listed automaker attributed the continued losses to “the influence of price movements in upstream raw materials and the cost pressures that the sector universally faces.”
This follows similar announcements by peers such as Seres Group, the EV partner of telecommunications company Huawei. The Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed automaker said on July 13 that it expects to record a net loss of RMB 1.5–1.8 billion (USD 221.3–265.6 million) for the first half, reversing from a net profit of RMB 2.94 billion (USD 433.7 million) a year earlier.
The automaker also blamed “price increases of major raw materials, including memory chips, industrial metals and lithium carbonate.”
Aito, Seres’ core subsidiary, swung to an expected loss of RMB 1.90–2.15 billion (USD 280.3–317.2 million) for the April-June quarter, from a profit in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Jeff Chung, Citi’s Hong Kong-based auto sector analyst, downgraded his rating of Seres’ shares traded in Hong Kong from “neutral” to “sell,” aligning with his evaluation of its mainland China-traded shares “considering margin headwinds on cost inflation, market share loss amid competition and asset impairment risk on model upgrades.”
The filings come as China’s auto sector faces intense pressure from weak domestic consumption and falling prices, afflicting even leader BYD. The automaker, which has yet to release its first-half guidance, said at the beginning of this month that its new-vehicle sales fell 16% on the year in the first six months, to 1.8 million units—its first drop for the January-June period in six years. BYD’s profit in the first quarter plunged 55% on the year.
The interim loss at Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), meanwhile, is expected to balloon up to RMB 4.57 billion (USD 674.2 million), from RMB 2.53 billion (USD 373.3 million) a year earlier. The company blamed “the combined impact of multiple adverse factors,” including mounting sales costs, changes in its sales structure and “rising upstream raw material costs” for the pressure on its own-branded car segment.
The automaker, which is also dual-listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, has long relied on hefty profits from its 50-50 joint ventures with foreign brands, especially Toyota and Honda. But the fading market positions of Japanese brands in China have also been hit by the “continued increase in sales expenditure and rising raw material costs,” the company said, leading to a fall in investment income.
GAC, like many of its peers, has tried to export its way out of the jam. The company said in a separate statement that it shipped 121,500 units of its own-branded cars in the first half, marking a 132% jump year-on-year.
The latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows production of electrified vehicles grew by 6.7% to 7.43 million units while sales rose 7.3% to 7.44 million units in the first six months. This contrasts with roughly 4% declines in production and sales across all vehicles, to about 15 million units.
Total exports, meanwhile, exceeded 5 million units in the first half, up by 65.3%. The pace is accelerating, with the monthly figure surpassing 1 million for the first time in June.
While the automakers struggle to make money, suppliers of materials are thriving.
CNGR Advanced Material, a global supplier of advanced energy materials for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries listed in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, said Monday night that its net profit for the first half of the year will be between RMB 1.25–1.35 billion (USD 184.4–199.2 million), marking an increase of 71–84%.
The company said it has “seized the opportunities presented by the booming global new energy industry,” by leveraging “its leading position in battery materials.”
Jiangsu Lopal Tech Group, a manufacturer of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials and automotive fine chemicals, anticipates a net profit in the range of RMB 373–447 million (USD 55.0–65.9 million) for the first half, bouncing back from a net loss of RMB 85 million (USD 12.5 million) a year earlier.
The Nanjing-based company, which is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, said Monday that it benefited from the “development of power batteries and energy storage batteries,” while its “lithium iron phosphate business was affected by the upstream and downstream demand of the industry,” buoying revenue and sales volume.
Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chalco, is another beneficiary. The Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed arm of the largest state-owned aluminum producer said on July 14 that it expects its half-year net profit to be in the range of RMB 11.2–12.2 billion (USD 1.7–1.8 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 58–73%.
The company’s filing was typically light on detail but said it has “capitalized on industry and market development trends.”
Shuhang Jiang, a Hong Kong-based analyst for Jefferies, said Chalco’s earnings estimate was “better than our expectations” based on commodity price movements. Jiang pointed to Chalco’s efforts to improve its bauxite self-sufficiency, which he believes “has helped in addition to continued cost-control efforts.”
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.
Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.78 = USD 1 based on estimates as of July 21, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.