Workers inspect vehicle exteriors, interiors and other components at a Seres factory. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)
Chongqing - Chongqing-based automaker Seres Group returned to profitability in Q3 2026 amid intensifying competition in China's auto market. Revenue fell 41.66% year on year to 28.08 billion yuan (approx. 4.22 billion U.S. dollars), while net profit dropped 40.12% to 1.42 billion yuan, reversing a 2.471-billion-yuan loss in Q2.
Seres attributed pressure on earnings to higher prices for key components and increased research and development spending. R&D expenses rose 12.43% to 5.689 billion yuan in the first nine months of the year, its quarterly report showed. In an investor relations record released November 2, the company said higher raw material prices and other factors added about 2.5 billion yuan to its third-quarter cost of sales.
The company attributed its revenue decline to lower new energy vehicle (NEV) sales. Net cash used in operating activities totaled 14.511 billion yuan in the first nine months, compared with net cash generated of 22.649 billion yuan a year earlier. Seres cited higher procurement spending and raw material prices.
Sales continued to decline in October. Seres sold 27,037 vehicles, down 50.29% from a year earlier, according to its monthly sales report. That included 24,921 NEVs, down 51.57%, and the AITO lineup 22,105 vehicles, down 54.69%. Total vehicle sales in the first 10 months reached about 310,200, down 21.48%.
The decline was steeper than those reported by several other Chinese EV makers, although the companies use different measures for vehicle sales and deliveries.
Leapmotor led the group with 106,127 deliveries, up 51% year on year. It exceeded 100,000 units for a fourth consecutive month; with deliveries little changed from September. XPeng delivered 50,237 vehicles, up 19.57% from a year earlier and 21.77% from September, a monthly record. Zeekr delivered 32,483 vehicles, up 51.63% year on year but down 12.72% month on month. Xiaomi said deliveries exceeded 50,000, without giving an exact figure.
Nio delivered 34,246 vehicles, down 15.23% year on year and 8.45% from September. Li Auto delivered 29,025 vehicles, down 8.63% year on year and 8.78% month on month.
Seres' sales decline broadly mirrored that of the Huawei-backed Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), which delivered 33,537 vehicles in October, down 50.84% from a year earlier.
Seres is continuing to update its lineup. The upgraded AITO M8 is scheduled to launch Nov. 13, with presale prices starting at 389,800 yuan.
Meanwhile, China's premium car market has not contracted across the board. According to the China Passenger Car Association, retail sales of passenger vehicles with a starting list price of at least 400,000 yuan reached about 301,800 in the first half of 2026, up 18.8% year on year. It was the only one of the association's five price segments to register growth.
Seres said the AITO M9 ranked first in sales among models priced above 500,000 yuan for four consecutive months, while cumulative AITO M6 deliveries exceeded 60,000.
With domestic sales under pressure, Seres is pursuing overseas expansion, although its European launch remains some way off. The company said its AITO lineup is undergoing EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA). Four AITO models appeared at the Paris Motor Show in mid-October. Seres plans to enter Europe in fall 2027 and aims for overseas sales to account for one-third of its total sales in the long term.
China's broader auto industry, meanwhile, is seeing strong export growth. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, vehicle exports reached 8.205 million units in the first nine months of 2026, up 65.8% year on year and accounting for about 35.3% of total sales. Domestic sales fell 22.4% to 15.066 million units over the same period.
Export tax policy is also set to change. In an October 12 announcement, China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration said the value-added tax export rebate rate for eligible NEVs would fall from 13% to 9% starting April 1, 2027. AITO has yet to achieve significant sales volumes in Europe, and whether overseas expansion can become a new growth driver remains uncertain.