(Yicai) July 29 -- Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles, has a substantially wider profit margin than the 10 Chinese car producers and auto parts makers that also made the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list.

CATL's profit margin was 17 percent, compared with an average of 1.5 percent for the eight Chinese carmakers in the rankings released yesterday. Long-term investor Jardine Strategic Holdings, which has some auto trading operations, had a 3.2 percent profit margin, while the global industry average was 1.7 percent.

With batteries now making up over 40 percent of the cost of producing a new energy vehicle, the “center of gravity” of China’s NEV industry is shifting toward battery makers, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said earlier this month. Automakers held sway over supply chain costs in the era of the internal combustion engine, but now the car industry’s balance point is increasingly shifting toward battery manufacturers, he said.

Guangzhou Automobile Group and Geely Automobile Holdings had negative profit margins, while that of BAIC Group stood at 0 percent. Dongfeng Motor, SAIC Motor, and FAW Group all had margins of less than 2 percent. BYD achieved 4.1 percent and Chery Automobile 6.3 percent.

In addition, Shenzhen-based BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world's best-selling EV manufacturer, while also being the only Chinese carmaker within the top 100 of the Fortune Global 500, ranking 91st. Nine other auto companies ranked in the top 100, coming from Japan, Europe, and the United States, while a total of 35 appeared on the list.

All of the world's top 10 auto companies, except BMW Group and Hyundai Motor, logged a drop in profit margin.

Despite a 3.4 percent increase in revenue, the "biggest automaker" Volkswagen Group saw its net profit plunge 33 percent. Toyota Motor reported an 18 percent profit drop even though revenue rose 6.7 percent. In addition, profits at General Motors and Mercedes-Benz Group tumbled 55 percent and 48 percent, respectively, on declines of 1.3 percent and 5.3 percent in revenue.

Editor: Martin Kadiev