GAC's growth shifts gears, self-owned brands up 30% year-on-year in May
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The differentiation in the domestic automobile market continues to intensify, and GAC Group offers an entry point to observe this trend.
On the evening of June 3, GAC Group released its production and sales report for May 2026. The group achieved vehicle sales of 127,300 units for the month, an increase of 8.18% year-on-year; cumulative sales from January to May reached 628,200 units, up 3.80% year-on-year. Amid the overall industry slowdown, GAC is among the few major automakers to realize both monthly and cumulative double-digit sales growth.
However, more noteworthy than the total growth rate is the shift of its internal growth engine.
Currently, GAC's proprietary brands have become the absolute driving force for its growth.
In May, GAC's three proprietary brands—Trumpchi, Aion, and Hyper—achieved a combined sales volume of 55,434 units, up 32.48% year-on-year. This increase far exceeds the group’s overall growth rate, with proprietary brands contributing over forty percent to the group's sales.
GAC Aion’s sales in May reached 31,946 units, with a year-on-year increase of 74.76%, maintaining a monthly year-on-year growth of over 60% for three consecutive months since March.
GAC Trumpchi's sales in May reached 23,488 units, a month-on-month increase of 12.86%; cumulative sales from January to May exceeded 136,400 units, up 16.15% year-on-year. Trumpchi's sales pillar remains the MPV series, with a total sales of 10,584 units in May, up 16.18% year-on-year, among which the M8 series sold 7,563 units, up 35.76% year-on-year.
Trumpchi's high-end new energy series "Xiangwang" models S7 and S9 currently face some market pressure, with sales in a period of adjustment. Trumpchi's move toward high-end transformation still requires observation.
Hyper Aion BU, after its "Panyu Action" reform integration, delivered strong performance, achieving sales of 33,140 units in May, growing 23.76% year-on-year, maintaining positive year-on-year growth for several consecutive months.
Looking at the joint venture sector.
The two major joint ventures achieved a combined 15.68% month-on-month growth in May, but year-on-year, GAC Toyota’s sales of 62,200 units for the month remained largely flat compared to last year, while GAC Honda saw a strong month-on-month increase of 77.61% but its absolute scale is relatively limited. The role of joint venture brands as GAC's former "profit cash cows" is weakening.
Overseas markets are becoming a brand-new growth engine for GAC Group. From January to May, proprietary brands exported nearly 100,000 units, up 135% year-on-year; May alone saw exports of 28,386 units, up 140% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, GAC and Huawei’s Qiankun jointly developed new smart EV brand Qijing’s first model GT7 started pre-sales on May 29, with orders exceeding 10,000 units within five hours. Whether the new product’s market performance will be sustained remains to be seen in subsequent data.
Overall, GAC Group’s sales growth in May was driven by both proprietary brands and overseas exports, with Aion’s explosive power in the new energy track most prominent and Trumpchi’s MPV foundation remaining solid. However, the joint venture sector’s year-on-year weakness and market resistance to Trumpchi's high-end transformation still pose structural challenges for GAC to address.
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