Let's explore the opportunities and challenges in the automotive manufacturing industry through the 2024 financial report data of companies such as BMW, BYD, Xiaomi Auto, Schaeffler, CATL, and Horizon.

In 2024, the BMW Group's annual revenue was 142.38 billion euros, a year - on - year decrease of 8.4%. The net profit dropped from 12.165 billion euros in 2023 to 7.678 billion euros. The global sales volume was 2.45 million vehicles, a year - on - year decline of 4%.

Facing the challenges of declining revenue and net profit, BMW invested 9.1 billion euros in research and development, a year - on - year increase of 17.1%, reaching a new historical high, accounting for 6.4% of its revenue. The investment was mainly used for the development of electrification, intelligence, and new - generation models.

In 2024, BYD's revenue reached 777.102 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 29.02%. The net profit attributable to the parent company was 40.254 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 34.00%. All core operating indicators reached new historical highs, and its global sales volume reached 4.27 million vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 41%.

In 2024, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, BYD became the world's first car company to reach 10 million new - energy vehicle production.

In 2024, Xiaomi Auto's revenue from innovative businesses such as intelligent electric vehicles was 32.8 billion yuan, and it delivered 136,854 new cars, with monthly deliveries exceeding 20,000 for five consecutive months. The annual delivery target for 2025 has been increased to 350,000 units.

Xiaomi continues to deeply cultivate underlying core technologies, with a research and development team of over 20,000 people. In 2024, its research and development investment was 24.1 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 25.9%, and it is expected to invest 30 billion yuan in 2025. The number of global automotive patent authorizations exceeds 1,000.

In 2024, NIO achieved an annual revenue of 65.73 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 18.2%. Among them, the revenue in the fourth quarter reached 19.7 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 15% and a month - on - month increase of 6%. The annual vehicle gross profit margin steadily increased to 12%, and the comprehensive gross profit margin was close to 10%, continuing to maintain a leading position in the industry.

In terms of research and development investment, NIO still remains high among its peers. The financial report shows that NIO's research and development investment in 2024 reached 13.037 billion yuan.

In 2024, the Schaeffler Group achieved sales of 18.2 billion euros, a year - on - year increase of 12.9% at constant exchange rates. The sales of the Automotive Technology Division in 2024 were only slightly lower than last year, at 6.955 billion euros, a year - on - year decrease of 0.1% at constant exchange rates, outperforming the 1.1% decline in global passenger car and light commercial vehicle production by 1.0 percentage point.

The sales of the e - drive business increased in all regions, with a year - on - year increase of 12.6% at constant exchange rates, and new orders reached 4.7 billion euros.

In 2024, the ZF Group achieved sales of 41.4 billion euros, with an adjusted EBIT of 1.5 billion euros and an adjusted EBIT margin of 3.6%. The group's adjusted EBIT was 1.504 billion euros, and the adjusted EBIT margin was 3.6%. The research and development expenditure was higher than last year, reaching 3.6 billion euros (3.5 billion euros in 2023). The research and development expenditure ratio increased to 8.6% (7.6% in 2023).

In 2024, CATL maintained global market shares of 37.9% in power batteries and 36.5% in energy storage batteries, continuing to hold the top positions globally in both fields. Its annual total revenue was 362 billion yuan, and the net profit exceeded 50 billion yuan, reaching a new high.

CATL's research and development expenses were as high as 18.607 billion yuan. The cumulative number of patents owned and under application has reached 43,354. It has ranked first in the number of new patent applications in the industry for five consecutive years, and the global patent authorization success rate is over 95%.

In 2024, Joyson Electronics' annual revenue was 55.86 billion yuan. Its automotive safety business and electronics business contributed 38.7 billion yuan and 17 billion yuan in revenue respectively. Most notably, the net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non - recurring gains and losses was approximately 1.28 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 28%.

During the reporting period, the company achieved a record - high global order amount of 83.9 billion yuan, and the order structure also showed a positive transformation towards intelligent cockpits and automotive electronics.

Horizon Robotics released its first annual report after listing. In 2024, its total revenue was 2.384 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 53.6%. The gross profit was 1.841 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 68.3%. Horizon Robotics performed strongly in the field of intelligent driving, claiming to "sit firmly in the top position of intelligent driving technology." It has provided intelligent driving solutions for 27 OEMs. The annual delivery volume of product solutions was approximately 2.9 million sets, with a cumulative delivery of approximately 7.7 million sets. The number of designated models in the whole year exceeded 100, and the cumulative number of designated models exceeded 310.

With the acceleration of global energy transformation and the continuous increase in consumers' demand for technological experiences, the trends of electrification and intelligence are reshaping the automotive industry.

Against this backdrop, continuous breakthroughs in research and development technology and the continuous strengthening of product capabilities have become the keys to winning market competition and the core driving force for promoting industry progress. At the same time, cross - border integration and collaborative innovation have injected new vitality into the automotive manufacturing industry. Enterprises from different fields share resources and technologies through cooperation, breaking industry boundaries and opening up new growth points for the automotive manufacturing industry.

AMTS, as a grand event in the automotive technology and engineering industry, focuses on every aspect of automotive R & D, design, and manufacturing. It comprehensively showcases innovative technologies and products in the automotive manufacturing industry chain. Through a new connection platform, it runs through online and offline omnimedia channels throughout the year, building a one - stop communication platform for system integrators, tier - 1 and tier - 2 suppliers, and R & D and manufacturing engineers of complete vehicles and components in the automotive technology and engineering fields at home and abroad.

On July 9 - 11, 2025, the 20 - year - old AMTS invites you to meet in Shanghai!

Source：Financial reports of various companies

Published by：AMTS Content Marketing Team