"With its sword drawn, Jetour is poised to rewrite the history of China's luxury off-road vehicle market," and "Jetour sets its sights on achieving global sales of 1 million vehicles by 2026."

Riding the wave of a burgeoning boxy SUV market and its cost-effectiveness, Jetour initially experienced a meteoric rise. However, as these initial advantages waned, the brand's fortunes took a downturn: sales plummeted by 9.1% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2026, with domestic sales experiencing double-digit declines, lagging behind the broader industry trend. The high-end Zongheng model also failed to make a significant impact. The ambitious goal of selling one million vehicles now seems largely unattainable, marking a setback in Jetour's high-end market aspirations.

Faced with simultaneous setbacks in sales and high-end market strategy, Chery decided to reappoint Li Xueyong, "the individual who knows Jetour inside out," as the brand's leader on October 7. This time around, Li must not only address growth issues but also determine whether Jetour's traditional strategies can still be effective as market advantages diminish.

Li Xueyong's "Comeback"

On October 7, Chery Automobile issued an announcement titled "Notice on Adjusting Executive Responsibilities to Further the Globalization 3.0 Strategy," reinstating Li Xueyong as the head of the Jetour brand. The announcement stated, "To fortify and expand the Jetour brand, Executive Vice President Li Xueyong will oversee the Jetour Brand Business Unit, with a focus on driving high-end development and forging a more globally competitive off-road brand."

Li Xueyong played a pivotal role in Jetour's ascent in recent years.

Since co-founding Jetour in 2018, Li Xueyong has served as the brand's chief marketing executive before ascending to the position of general manager. His accomplishments at Jetour earned him a spot in Chery's core management team. In 2023, he was promoted to Deputy General Manager of Chery Automobile, while also holding the positions of General Manager of Chery's marketing company and Jetour Automobile.

Yin Tongyue, the head of Chery Group, has publicly lauded Li Xueyong's Jetour team on multiple occasions, referring to them as Chery's "38th Army." Jetour and Li Xueyong have become a poster child for mutual success in China's automotive industry. During Li's tenure, he oversaw the majority of Jetour's new vehicle launches and strategic announcements, leaving an indelible mark on the brand.

This dynamic shifted in early 2025 when Li Xueyong was promoted to Executive Vice President of Chery Automobile, with Dai Lihong taking over the day-to-day operations of Jetour. Li relinquished his role as Jetour's general manager.

Nevertheless, Li continued to attend key Jetour events throughout 2025. However, signs of his reduced involvement became apparent: in July 2025, Li was tasked with overseeing Chery's domestic business groups (Exceed, Arrizo, Fengyun QQ), signaling a transition from single-brand management to strategic oversight of Chery's core brands.

In November 2025, Li Xueyong skipped the Traveler's Night and Jetour's 4th Travel+ Conference—one of the brand's flagship annual events. Industry observers viewed this as a significant milestone, marking Jetour's entry into the "Post-Li Xueyong Era."

Media pundits see Jetour's transition into the "Post-Li Xueyong Era" as a necessary step towards brand maturation, arguing that marketing efforts should not overly rely on a single individual. However, Jetour's market performance since 2026—the inaugural year of this new era—has been far from satisfactory, with setbacks in both sales and high-end market strategy. The leadership reshuffle underscores Chery's urgency to break Jetour out of its developmental impasse.

Jetour Faces Pressure on Multiple Fronts

On October 2, official data released by Chery Automobile on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange revealed that Jetour's global sales reached 417,000 units in the first nine months of the year, marking a 9.1% year-on-year decline. The root cause lies in a significant drop in domestic sales: from January to August, Jetour's domestic retail sales plummeted by 50% year-on-year to approximately 102,000 units—a stark halving of its market share. This performance trailed far behind the broader domestic passenger vehicle market, which saw retail sales of 11.71 million units, down 20.8% year-on-year.

While China's auto market faced headwinds in 2026, Jetour's decline outpaced the industry average, indicating heightened competitive pressure.

This also implies that Jetour's 2026 target of selling one million vehicles annually is now largely unattainable. As early as 2024, Li Xueyong had asserted, "Jetour will sell 800,000 vehicles annually by 2025 and one million globally by 2026." Previously, Yin Tongyue had also publicly stated, "Chery Group will fully support Jetour in achieving one million annual sales by 2026."

However, market developments have outstripped their expectations. The fuel vehicle market's collapse, occurring faster than anticipated, has dealt a severe blow to Jetour, which heavily relies on fuel vehicles. This has led to a slowdown in domestic sales for models like the Jetour X70, Traveler, and Dasheng. Meanwhile, Jetour's new energy vehicle lineup has yet to provide stable sales support. The brand's new energy transition centers on the Shanhai series, but since its launch in November 2023, no Shanhai model has consistently sold over 10,000 units per month, leaving the high-end market breakthrough elusive. Declining fuel vehicle sales and stagnant new energy growth are the primary drivers behind Jetour's current sales slump.

On the high-end front, Jetour's progress remains limited, still struggling to gain a foothold. The announcement's emphasis on "driving high-end development" underscores Li Xueyong's core mission.

Launched in January 2025, Jetour Zongheng is a cornerstone of Jetour's high-end strategy. However, its debut model, the Zongheng G700, has failed to gain traction in the domestic market. Priced at around 300,000 yuan, the G700's monthly sales have dwindled from 2,000 units shortly after launch to an average of just 700 units, pushing it to the fringes. While its overseas performance is relatively stronger, it still averages only around 1,000 units per month.

Chery Group had allocated 10 billion yuan in special funding to support Jetour Zongheng, but its performance thus far has been underwhelming.

Challenges Await Li Xueyong's "Comeback"

Chery hopes that Li Xueyong, one of Jetour's key architects, can "strengthen and grow" the brand, but the task is daunting.

Market conditions have deteriorated, with the fuel vehicle market declining faster than expected and Jetour's core off-road (boxy SUV) segment transitioning from a blue ocean to a red ocean. According to industry estimates, the number of boxy SUV models on sale surged from just over 10 to more than 40 in the first half of the year, with over 50 expected by year-end. Full-year sales in this segment could reach 1.5–1.6 million units, accounting for nearly 12% of the SUV market—one of the fastest-growing categories.

While the boxy SUV market remains a growth area amid the overall industry decline, competition has intensified. Jetour's 2023 "star model," the Traveler, once consistently sold over 10,000 units per month, but that success is now a distant memory. It faces increasing pressure from rivals like the Haval Big Dog, Tank 300, and BJ30.

In the high-end new energy off-road market, the Zongheng G700 faces stiff competition from the Tank series and Fangchengbao. The Tank brand remains dominant in China's off-road market, while Fangchengbao has carved out a niche in new energy off-roading. The 300,000-yuan price range is a key battleground for both. After the G700's struggles, Zongheng's second model, the F700, shifted focus to the pickup truck segment—a niche market unlikely to drive significant sales in the short term.

Meanwhile, Jetour's new energy transition faces even greater hurdles. Most Shanhai series models still sell around 1,000 units per month. In August, the Shanhai L7 PLUS and Shanhai T1 sold just 2,752 and 760 units domestically, respectively—a relatively marginal position in China's new energy market.

Declining fuel vehicle sales, weak new energy performance, and stalled high-end progress are the three key challenges Li Xueyong must tackle after his reappointment.

Jetour's initial rise was fueled by early advantages in the boxy SUV blue ocean and its cost-effectiveness. However, the market has undergone profound changes: new energy penetration has surpassed 50%, the fuel vehicle market is shrinking rapidly, and the boxy SUV segment's growth dividend has faded amid fierce competition. In this new competitive landscape, whether Li Xueyong's past successes can be replicated to address Jetour's current challenges remains to be seen. Time will tell if he can steer the brand out of its dilemmas.