SAIC Motor's Q1 Earnings Stall as Domestic Slowdown Offsets Export Momentum
SAIC Motor (SHA:600104) posted flat growth for the first quarter of 2026 versus a year earlier, as a cooling domestic market in China weighed on the automaker's overall performance.Attributable net profit inched up 0.9% to 3.03 billion yuan from 3.02 billion yuan, according to the automaker's latest financial report published Thursday to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.Earnings per share rose slightly to 0.265 yuan from 0.264 yuan, beating analysts' forecast of 0.13 yuan in a Visible Alpha survey.Total operating revenue slipped 0.3% to 140.4 billion yuan from 140.9 billion yuan in the previous year, missing the Visible Alpha forecast of 141.4 billion yuan.The sluggish performance follows a broader downturn in the Chinese automotive sector, where domestic sales fell for the sixth straight month in March, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.Domestic car sales slumped 15.2% year on year to 1.67 million vehicles in March due to rising fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict, Reuters reported earlier in April.Exports, on the other hand, grew 73.7% in March to nearly 700,000 vehicles.SAIC was not immune to these trends. In March, the carmaker's sales fell 2.6% to 375,870 units, while output dropped 9.1% to 355,336 units.To attract more buyers, SAIC has recently doubled down on partnerships, recently striking a model development agreement with Vala (HKG:2051) to develop a new car model.SAIC also recently disclosed plans to roll out a third model developed in partnership with Germany's Audi in 2027. Their second SUV model, the AUDI E7X, was launched at this year's Beijing Auto China.SAIC also plans to expand further in Europe by establishing an electric vehicle factory in Spain, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing insiders.While Hungary was previously considered due to EV and battery investments in the country in recent years, sources told Bloomberg that SAIC has ultimately selected Spain for its upcoming electric vehicle factory as the country is offering incentives and has been positioning itself as an EV investment hub.