As always, the joys and sorrows of automakers are not interconnected. Some automakers are "selling like crazy"; while others would rather "beg on their knees".

On October 31st, both SAIC and GAC, two major automotive groups, released their third-quarter financial reports on the same day, which were also the worst reports they have ever seen. Sales, revenue, and net profit of both automakers have all seen significant declines.

Starting with SAIC, its third-quarter revenue was 142.56 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 25.58%; net profit was only 280 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 93.53%. For the first three quarters, SAIC's revenue was 419.646 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 17.39%, with a net profit of 6.907 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 39.45%.

The net profit of 6.907 billion yuan might seem decent, but it's important to note that 5.13 billion yuan of this profit came from SAIC selling its stake in MG Motor India.

More sadly, it's not just profit declines but also an overall sales slump. According to data, SAIC sold 313,260 vehicles wholesale in September 2024, a year-on-year decline of 35.03%. This marked the third consecutive month that SAIC's sales declined by more than 35%. The performance of SAIC Volkswagen, SAIC GM, and Wuling Motors, once the "profit cows," has been mediocre. The worst performer was SAIC GM, with a cumulative sales of 278,485 vehicles from January to September, a year-on-year decline of 61.55%. As a result, SAIC GM ceded its title as the "sales champion" for 18 consecutive years to BYD.

Compared to SAIC, GAC is not doing much better. According to GAC's production and sales report for September, the company's cumulative production from January to September was 1.334 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 26.08%; cumulative sales were 1.335 million vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 25.59%. This marked the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year sales declines for GAC.

The reason for the decline is similar to that of SAIC—sales of joint venture brands have been severely hit, particularly GAC Toyota and GAC Honda. GAC Honda saw a year-on-year decline of 29.06% to 309,200 vehicles, while GAC Toyota declined by 24.49% to 517,900 vehicles.

Joint venture performance has been mediocre, and so has the performance of independent brands. For example, GAC Trumpchi sold a cumulative 276,900 vehicles from January to September this year, a year-on-year decline of 6.41%. GAC Aion sold 226,700 vehicles in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year decline of 35.40%.

Poor sales have led to embarrassing financial reports. It is reported that GAC's third-quarter revenue was 28.49 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 21.46%. In the first nine months of this year, GAC's net profit was only 120 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 97.34%, marking its worst financial performance in 14 years since going public.

Conclusion: SAIC and GAC can truly be called fellow sufferers. However, turning around a giant ship is difficult, and what SAIC and GAC face more is internal cultural inertia. As the saying goes, "It's easy to defeat an enemy outside the mountain but hard to defeat the enemy within one's heart." Perhaps it's time for them to reflect on whether their decline began with the changing times, or with the slowly growing poisonous apple of "arrogance," or if what is destined to be lost will ultimately be lost.