Amid fast-paced changes that fill the business community with excitement, angst and trepidation, EqualOcean will publish a series of roundup articles to document the major events related to Chinese companies going global every week.
Weekly Overview (31/05-06/06)
1. Li Auto (理想汽车) Announces Internationalization Strategy, Planning Phased Expansion Across Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia Markets
2. ANTA (安踏) Officially Becomes Global Strategic Partner of ZXMOTO (张雪机车), Launching Co-Branded Product Series
3. Tmall Supermarket (天猫超市) Launches in Hong Kong, Allowing Consumers to Benefit from "Next-Day Delivery" Service
4. SAIC-GM-Wuling's (上汽通用五菱) Global Vehicle EKSION Delivered to First Batch of Users
5. SF Express (顺丰速运) Signs Cooperation Agreement with Vietnam Post (越南邮政) to Jointly Build a Smart Cross-Border Logistics Ecosystem
6. SAIC Motor (上汽集团) Proposes Further Divestment of 10% Equity Stake in Indian Automotive Joint Venture to JSW
7. DJI (大疆创新) Leads Japanese Video Camera Market for 30 Consecutive Months
8. China's Smart Mower Exports Experience High-Speed Growth, Fueled by an Explosion in Overseas Demand for Wire-Free Robotic Solutions
9. SAIC MG (上汽名爵) Officially Announces European Plant, Targeting Annual European Sales of 600,000 Vehicles in the Future
10. Changan Automobile (长安汽车) Delivers 209,100 Vehicles in May with Overseas Deliveries Reaching 70,700 Units, Recording a 38% YoY Increase
11. BYD (比亚迪) Registers May Sales of 383,500 Vehicles as Overseas Exports Break 160,000 Units to Hit a Historic High
12. NVIDIA (英伟达) Introduces Isaac GR00T Humanoid Robot Reference Design Based on Unitree (宇树科技) H2 to Deepen Embodied Intelligence Ecosystem Layout
13. Midea Group (美的集团) Records 2025 Revenue of 458.5 Billion RMB with 100% Profit Dividend Payout
14. DiDi's (滴滴出行) Q1 International Business Demonstrates Robust Performance, with Order Volume Surging 27% YoY to a Daily Average of 13.94 Million Orders
15. India's Tata Motors (塔塔汽车) Intends to Leverage Chery (奇瑞汽车) Platform to Produce High-End EVs, with First Model Slated for Launch in 2027
16. He Xiaopeng Responds to Overseas Hype of GX: Secures Thousands of Blind Orders in Middle East Prior to Pricing Disclosure, Global L3 Autonomous Driving to Implement in Q1 Next Year
17. State Council Releases New Regulations on Outbound Investment, Scheduled to Take Effect on July 1
18. Dreame's (追觅科技) Vision Robotics Brand NAVO Secures Additional Round of Financing
Selected Developments
1. Li Auto (理想汽车) Announces Internationalization Strategy, Planning Phased Expansion Across Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia Markets
【Event】Recently, Li Auto (理想汽车) officially announced its internationalization strategy during its Q1 2026 earnings conference call. Ma Donghui, Executive Director and President of Li Auto (理想汽车), stated that the company will advance its overseas market expansion in phases. Depending on the unique dynamics of different regions, the company will adopt flexible operational models—such as subsidiaries, independent dealers, or exclusive master agencies—and rely on top-tier local partners to construct an integrated framework spanning sales, delivery, and after-sales service systems.
According to the strategic blueprint, Li Auto (理想汽车) will enter the markets of Macau, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar starting in May. In the third quarter, the company will introduce its L9 extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models to the Middle East and Central Asia markets, featuring deep optimizations tailored for local environmental extremes, specifically adapting charging efficiency and air conditioning thermal management. Concurrently, Li Auto (理想汽车) plans to roll out its i6 battery electric vehicle (BEV) model in the European market during the second half of the year, while launching the right-hand drive (RHD) variant of the MEGA in RHD markets like Hong Kong and Singapore by the end of the year.
Furthermore, Li Auto (理想汽车) indicated that all forthcoming models will concurrently adapt to international regulatory frameworks during their initial research and development phases, thereby maximizing product compatibility and compliance capabilities across global markets.
2. China's Smart Mower Exports Experience High-Speed Growth, Fueled by an Explosion in Overseas Demand for Wire-Free Robotic Solutions
【Event】Recently, data from the General Administration of Customs indicated that China’s total lawn mower export value reached 14.5 billion RMB in 2024, maintaining a compounding annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.4% from 2018 through 2024—a figure that significantly outpaces the stagnant 2% global market growth rate recorded over the past decade. This upward trajectory intensified into 2025, with exports during the first seven months surging 56.6% year-on-year (YoY) to reach 13.2 billion RMB. At the epicenter of this explosive growth is the robotic lawn mower segment. In the first half of 2025, global sales of smart robotic mowers skyrocketed by 327% YoY to 2.34 million units, with wire-free solutions—spearheaded almost entirely by pioneering Chinese hardware enterprises—accounting for 1.52 million units and expanding their market share from 35% in 2024 to a dominant 65%.
3. SAIC MG (上汽名爵) Officially Announces European Plant, Targeting Annual European Sales of 600,000 Vehicles in the Future
【Event】Recently, the site for SAIC MG's (上汽名爵) production plant in Europe has been finalized, with the facility to be established in the Galicia Autonomous Community of Spain, representing a total capital investment of approximately 200 million euros for the new manufacturing base. Scheduled to officially commence production in 2028, the project will yield a maximum annual production capacity of up to 120,000 vehicles and is projected to generate over 2,000 manufacturing jobs within Europe.
It is understood that the MG Spanish plant will seamlessly integrate vehicle R&D, advanced manufacturing, core component sourcing, and smart logistics operations to construct a full-link, integrated industrial ecosystem. This layout will substantially elevate MG's localized production and procurement capabilities within the European market, thereby strengthening supply chain stability, response speed, and structural flexibility. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that the plant's 120,000-unit annual capacity will likely be heavily weighted toward pure electric models, with one of the primary strategic objectives being the mitigation of tariff impacts.
In recent years, MG has recorded rapid growth across European markets. Earlier this year, the MG brand celebrated its 1 millionth vehicle delivery milestone within the European continent. Since its official return to the UK market in 2011, MG has established a robust footprint spanning over 1,300 dealerships across 34 European countries. In 2025, SAIC MG (上汽名爵) achieved sales of 307,000 vehicles in Europe, marking a 26% YoY increase and securing its position as the sole Chinese automotive brand to rank among the top 20 best-sellers in the European market. As its sales scale expands across Europe, SAIC MG (上汽名爵) is actively pushing toward higher milestones, with subsequent plans expected to target annual sales of 500,000 to 600,000 new vehicles in the European theater.
4. NVIDIA (英伟达) Partners with Unitree (宇树科技) to Construct a Standardized Humanoid Robotics Platform for Global Research
【Event】Recently, NVIDIA (英伟达) announced a partnership with Chinese humanoid robotics enterprise Unitree (宇树科技) to launch a standardized H2 humanoid robot platform tailored specifically for academic research institutions. Disclosed shortly after NVIDIA (英伟达) CEO Jensen Huang delivered his keynote address in Taipei, the initiative aims to provide universities and scientific research bodies with a unified, standardized physical carrier for advanced humanoid robotics studies.
According to product specifications, this standardized robotic platform is built upon the hardware chassis of the Unitree (宇树科技) H2 humanoid robot, utilizing robotic hands engineered by Singapore-headquartered Sharpa, while its computational "central brain" is powered by NVIDIA's (英伟达) chip platform. NVIDIA (英伟达) noted that researchers from elite institutions, including Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego, intend to utilize this platform to spearhead their respective humanoid robotics research initiatives.
The core focus of this collaboration extends beyond hardware integration to encompass rigorous enhancements in systemic security for the robotics platform. NVIDIA (英伟达) plans to utilize its chip architecture to validate software updates across various robotic subsystems, introducing specialized mechanisms such as secure boot and confidential computing to prevent malicious code execution and mitigate the risk of sensitive data leaks. Broadly speaking, the alliance between NVIDIA (英伟达) and Unitree (宇树科技) signifies that Chinese humanoid robotics hardware is integrating deeper into the foundational fabric of the global AI and robotics scientific research ecosystem.
5. DiDi's (滴滴出行) Q1 International Business Demonstrates Robust Performance, with Order Volume Surging 27% YoY to a Daily Average of 13.94 Million Orders
【Event】Recently, DiDi (滴滴出行) published its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 on its official website. The financial report demonstrates that during the first quarter, DiDi’s (滴滴出行) domestic mobility business in China generated a Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of 85.769 billion RMB, representing a 9.9% YoY increase. The platform completed 3.547 billion domestic orders, achieving a record-breaking daily average order volume of 39.40 million orders and securing stable growth for 13 consecutive quarters.
Concurrently, the international business emerged as a vital growth driver for the quarter. In Q1, DiDi’s (滴滴出行) international operations achieved a GTV of 37.575 billion RMB, marking a substantial 59.5% YoY surge and elevating its contribution to the group's aggregate GTV from 22% in the corresponding period last year to 30%. International revenue reached 4.451 billion RMB, growing 41.39% YoY. Will Cheng (程维), Founder and CEO of DiDi (滴滴出行), expressed deep confidence in the trajectory of the international business, stating that the company will continue to deepen its local service footprints while accelerating the commercial deployment of autonomous driving technologies across both domestic and overseas markets.
In tandem with market expansion, DiDi (滴滴出行) accelerated the structural application of AI technologies across its mobility scenarios. During the first quarter, the platform’s AI mobility assistant, "Xiao Di," underwent continuous upgrades. Drawing upon years of real-world operational data, the assistant now supports over 90 fine-grained service labels—such as "fresh air," "spacious trunk," and "smooth driving"—effectively converting personalized user preferences into executable matching algorithms. In the domain of security and safety, DiDi (滴滴出行) successfully married AI capabilities with platform safety architecture, utilizing an "AI intelligent judgment + safety expert manual review" dual-layer model to sharply optimize risk identification and intervention efficiencies.