GAC "tightens its belt"

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

From once boldly claiming "unlimited investment" to now being merged into the Aito division, the gears of Haobo's fate have turned once again.

On December 18, GAC Group announced the launch of a reform of its independent brand business units (BUs). Among them, the most notable is the merger of Haobo and Aito, which will be managed under the same division.

From the emergence of the Haobo brand three years ago, its independence from Aito in January this year, to its current re-merger, the ups and downs of Haobo and Aito are closely related to the fate of GAC Group.

Haobo was originally a sub-brand of Aito aimed at the high-end market and was considered the most important "valuation increment" in GAC Aito's independent IPO story, with hopes of becoming the "Porsche of China." Six months ago, the group stated that "in the next three years, GAC will support Haobo with unlimited determination, investing the group's top human, material, and financial resources into Haobo."

Therefore, at the beginning of Haobo's establishment, GAC provided the group's most advanced technologies—such as the Xingling architecture and solid-state batteries—in an attempt to quickly establish a foothold in the 300,000+ high-end market. After showcasing its capabilities, Haobo also promoted the Haobo GT and Haobo HT priced at 200,000 yuan.

However, in the past two years, Haobo's sales have not met expectations. From January to November this year, Haobo sold a total of 15,483 new cars, a year-on-year decrease of about 3%. During the same period, Aito sold 247,900 new cars, a year-on-year decrease of 19.29%. The average monthly sales were about 23,000 units, far from its peak of over 50,000 units per month.

Currently, facing pressure on sales, shrinking profits, and the normalization of price wars in the industry, operating Haobo as an independent brand is no longer cost-effective for GAC, which is tightening its belt and preparing for a counterattack.

At the recent 2026 work meeting held at GAC Group's Panyu headquarters, GAC Group Chairman Feng Xingya clearly stated that to cope with operational difficulties, short-term reliance on sales, medium-term on products, and long-term on reforms is necessary. The group's reform is advancing in a 2+3+X phase, with the current completion of top-level design for organizational processes and BU pilot projects, moving towards deeper reforms. The "BU pilot" refers to the Haobo Aito BU.

Industry insiders believe that in the past, there was a certain "silo" development model among GAC Research Institute, Aito Research Institute, and various brands. There was a phenomenon of redundant development in chassis, battery packs, and even some software definitions between Haobo and Aito. During the market explosion period, "having more children makes it easier to fight" may have been effective, but in a period of stock competition, this model inevitably leads to internal friction.

The reformed BU system means further integration of R&D, production, and supply chains. One team, two brands, maximizing the reuse of supply chain advantages and reducing BOM costs is the only way to cope with the subsequent price wars. This reform essentially represents a strategic contraction from "expansion first" to "efficiency first," and aims to build a clearer brand defense line In particular, core functional departments such as strategy, product, research and development, quality, sales, marketing, finance, and human resources will be integrated into one. Ultimately, the Aito Business Unit (BU) will independently assume full operational responsibility from product planning and R&D to market launch and profitability, being fully accountable for the final market performance and commercial success.

After the merger, Aito can leverage Haobo's high-end technology endorsement to enhance its brand image; meanwhile, Haobo can utilize Aito's large user base for conversion.

It should be noted that the most immediate measure of this reform is channel integration. GAC has clearly stated that Haobo will utilize Aito's channel resources, planning to establish over 1,000 sales outlets by 2026. Originally, Haobo had only about 200 stores, but after merging into Aito's channels, it instantly gained access to a network that penetrates third- and fourth-tier cities.

In the past year, many companies have tightened their fists for restructuring. Just as ZEEKR split from the Lynk & Co system to operate independently, and now combines with Aito, this is essentially a response to market evolution. As the Chinese automotive market enters a stage of stock competition, the competition is no longer just about products, but about systemic capabilities. Resource sharing, collaborative development, and efficiency enhancement are also essential paths for the development of automotive companies.

It is evident that GAC's reform strategy is becoming increasingly clear. The current automotive market exhibits a layered characteristic of "high-end upgrades and mass accessibility." GAC's "complementary pairing" strategy can comprehensively cover different consumer needs while avoiding resource dispersion, effectively enhancing the overall market's risk resistance.

For this reason, the Haobo Aito BU takes the lead, followed closely by the Trumpchi BU, along with the Qijing brand, which is jointly developed and independently operated with Huawei. GAC's large-scale self-owned brands will ultimately form a matrix covering various niche markets.

This group army combat model is a precise layout to respond to market layering: the Haobo Aito BU plays the role of "Toyota + Lexus." Among them, Aito is responsible for volume sales to maintain the market share baseline, while Haobo is responsible for technology monetization and brand elevation by sharing a modular platform to spread costs.

On the other hand, the Trumpchi BU focuses on plug-in hybrids and gasoline hybrids. As the growth rate of pure electric penetration slows down, Trumpchi serves as GAC's "cash cow" and "ballast," ensuring the group's basic position in the fuel/hybrid market remains intact; the Qijing brand serves as a breakthrough point. Since the internally incubated Haobo is unlikely to surpass competitors in intelligence in the short term, introducing Qijing is a clever move to "borrow strength to counter strength."

If this combination is executed well, GAC is expected to stabilize its position in the finals by 2026.

Next year, the Haobo Aito BU plans to launch six new vehicles. In the latest batch of new vehicles announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Aito N60 has officially debuted. The A800, jointly developed by Haobo and Huawei, will also be launched soon.

In response to performance pressure, GAC has already taken a series of measures. In addition to this reform of the self-owned brand BU, GAC has also introduced the IPD system sourced from Huawei. Feng Xingya stated that this system has already shown results, with the new product development cycle shortened from the original 30 months to 18-24 months, and product development costs decreased by 10% year-on-year, laying the foundation for accelerating subsequent product iterations.

With the completion of this series of reforms and the launch of the first Qijing vehicle in mid-next year, GAC will also follow the three-year "Panyu Action" plan, aiming to achieve annual sales of 2 million units for its self-owned brands by 2027 In retrospect, GAC's "unlimited" investment in Haobo was courageous, while the restraint of "combining like items" today is wisdom. In the industry's winter, preserving the spark for another rise may be more important than anything else