Recently, Changan Automobile held its 2024 performance briefing. Chairman Zhu Huarong announced the 2024 sales, revenue, research and development, and future development strategies. Here are the highlights from the briefing.
Sales hit a seven-year high. Monthly sales of new energy vehicles surpassed 100,000 units, with a penetration rate increase of 15.3%. Overseas annual sales reached 536,000 units, accounting for 20% of total sales. Domestic brand sales totaled 2.226 million units, representing 83.1%. As of April 10, domestic brand sales exceeded 28.35 million units, making it the first Chinese brand to surpass 20 million in production and sales.
Revenue grew 7.7% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders reached 73.2 million yuan. Operating net cash flow hit 4.849 billion yuan. Cash reserves stood at 119.7 billion yuan. The debt-to-asset ratio was 62%. Total profit remained stable, enhancing the ability to withstand risks. In addition, in 2024, Avita completed Series C financing. Changan Kaicheng finished Series A financing. Regarding profits, new energy benefits improved steadily. The average product price increased by 10,100 yuan (1390$) per vehicle. The cost per vehicle decreased by 6,700 yuan (920$). In 2024, overseas profits surged 32.5% year-on-year.
R&D investment grew by 10% year-on-year. In the past three years, annual patent investment reached 100 million yuan. During this period, we filed 14,000 patents. We led and participated in over 240 external standards, including international, national, and industry standards.
Zhu Huarong stated that in the next five years, R&D investment will drop by over 20 billion yuan. This will accelerate AI large model development and application. It will also promote end-to-end intelligent driving. In the low-altitude economy, investment will exceed 20 billion yuan to advance the flying car industry. Over the next decade, investment will decrease by more than 100 billion yuan. This will explore integrated transportation solutions for land, sea, air, and humanoid robots. [Opportunities and Challenges]
In 2025, Changan Automobile aims for a sales target of 3 million units. This includes 1 million units of new energy vehicles and 1 million units sold overseas. By 2030, the company plans to reach total sales of 5 million units. This will consist of 4 million units from its own brand, 3 million units of smart new energy vehicles, and 1.2 million units sold overseas.
In the next five years, we will launch 50 new smart products. These will include six-seat SUVs, compact SUVs, station wagons, MPVs, and off-road SUVs. We will also develop more than five products priced above 300,000.
In technology, we will accelerate the development of power batteries. We plan to validate solid-state batteries in vehicles by 2026 and gradually mass-produce them by 2027. Additionally, Changan Automobile will introduce a new generation of super factories to improve efficiency and reduce costs. In smart technology, we will upgrade our digital products step by step. We aim to achieve mass production of the Pro version of the Tian Shu laser radar by 2025. We will also gradually launch the Tian Shu Smart Driving Aurora MAX version and the L3 version. By the end of 2025, we will complete test flights of flying cars. By 2028, we will start production of humanoid robots.