It's hard to imagine that Zero Run Auto, a cost-focused "engineering-minded" company, would seize the opportunity during the "premium alternatives" wave in the automotive industry over the past two years to become the leading new energy vehicle brand.
On August 18th, Zero Run released its financial results. Despite the traditionally slow sales season in the first half of the year, this dark horse more than doubled its revenue, with gross margin growth even more impressive, maintaining stable double-digit gross margins and reaching a company record high. Under this rapid growth, Zero Run crossed the milestone of positive net profit for the first half-year for the first time, becoming the second new energy vehicle company after Li Auto to achieve semi-annual profitability.
Behind this outstanding performance lies solid proof of the power of "scale effects." In the first half of the year, Zero Run secured the top position among new energy vehicle brands with sales of 221,700 units. Riding high on success, Zero Run decided to capitalize on this momentum, announcing during the evening earnings call that it would change its full-year target from break-even to profitability, while raising its annual sales target for the second time to 580,000-600,000 units.
This means it aims to achieve monthly sales of over 75,000 units, challenging the sales limits of new energy vehicle brands. For next year, CFO Li Tengfei boldly stated the company would challenge one million units in sales, one year ahead of Chairman Zhu Jiangming's original expectation.
Zero Run, which didn't receive much spotlight several years ago, has clearly found its breakthrough path and continues to build momentum. However, while most automakers have become conservative in their growth expectations, Zero Run doesn't consider itself aggressive. "The one million annual sales target is a must-achieve goal - it's our survival baseline, otherwise we'll struggle to survive," Zhu Jiangming told Wall Street Insights.
Last year, Zhu Jiangming said that to truly survive in the end, sales of over 3 million units would be needed. This year, his ambition has escalated: "4 million units is our major goal." This volume would put them shoulder-to-shoulder with giants like BYD and General Motors. This aligns with Zhu Jiangming's new positioning for Zero Run - to become a world-class electric vehicle company in the future.
The question remains: will the entire automotive industry face new changes because of Zero Run, and will competitors simply accept this development?
**Triumphant Success**
At the beginning of the year, the company was still preparing to reach the annual break-even line. After the mid-year report, as if hitting a winning streak, it announced plans to net 500 million to 1 billion yuan this year. Clearly, Zero Run itself didn't anticipate such smooth sailing this year.
In just one year, Zero Run's sales surged from 86,000 units in the first half of last year to 222,000 units in the same period this year. Moreover, in July this year, it reached a monthly sales peak of 50,000 units, firmly holding the top position among new energy vehicle brands.
Currently, with no signs of the price war abating and vehicle model structures shifting downmarket, Zero Run managed to achieve its first semi-annual profit turnaround in the highly competitive 150,000 yuan market segment through scale effects, posting a net profit of over 30 million yuan against the trend.
Breaking down the financial report, although Zero Run continued to increase investments in intelligence and channels in the first half, the 15.4 billion yuan revenue growth during the same period was ten times the increase in the three major expenses. Gross margins rose accordingly, surging from 1.1% in the first half of last year to 14.1%. Under the broader trend of consumption downgrading, the data proves that the "good but affordable" strategy set by Zhu Jiangming six years ago is beginning to show its power. Zero Run has entered a harvest period, proving to the market that "the value-oriented route can also be profitable."
Industry insiders believe that the 100,000-200,000 yuan range represents the largest user base in China's new energy vehicle market and is also one of the most competitive segments. In this circle, value for money remains the unbeatable wealth code, and Zero Run has become the hit-maker.
In the first half, Zero Run's "reinforcement troops" - the B10 and B01 models - were launched, while the flagship C11 from the C series received updates. Market response was enthusiastic: the B10 achieved over 10,000 deliveries in its second month (May), becoming the brand's fastest model to break the 10,000-unit delivery milestone. The B01, launched at the end of July, secured over 10,000 orders within 72 hours of release.
Taking this year's main B series as an example, at a price point of just over 100,000 yuan, it offers end-to-end assisted driving, LiDAR, 800V platform that competitors originally offered at 200,000-300,000 yuan, along with scenario-based experience configurations like "refrigerator, TV, and big sofa." This level of premium configuration is more aggressive than most peers, making it hard for mainstream consumers to resist.
The secret to extreme cost control lies in Zero Run's in-house R&D strategy. Zhu Jiangming told Wall Street Insights that Zero Run now not only develops its own three-electric systems, smart cockpits, and autonomous driving technology, but also handles the research and development of high-value-added components like AR-HUD and seats entirely in-house.
Zhu Jiangming goes to great lengths to "squeeze water" from components, creating cost space to continuously strengthen product capabilities. Combined with platform-based development, Zero Run can rapidly iterate and launch new products, concentrating firepower to capture market positions in the volatile market.
Industry insiders believe this combination strategy has given Zero Run ample expansion opportunities. From the industry competitive landscape perspective, competitor BYD faces "anti-involution" restrictions due to the price war, allowing Zero Run to penetrate BYD's 150,000 yuan vehicle segment base, forming a positive cycle of reputation and consumer mindset.
Therefore, the first-half results have given Zero Run great confidence, and the upcoming golden September and silver October season provides even greater imagination space, especially since Zero Run still holds several trump cards ready to be played.
**A New King Emerges**
Riding the market tailwinds, Zero Run continues to race ahead on the path of scale growth.
During this earnings call, management revealed that sales in August and September will show significant growth, leading to an upward revision of total annual sales to 580,000-650,000 units. Next year, the company will launch an assault on one million annual sales, corresponding to monthly sales of over 80,000 units.
This volume represents uncharted territory for new energy vehicle brands - no brand has previously set such an ambitious flag. Monthly sales of 50,000 units represent an insurmountable chasm for many players, achieved only by a fortunate few like BYD, Geely, and Li Auto.
While most automakers have become conservative in their growth expectations, if Zero Run can achieve its million-unit dream, it would rank among the top two domestic vehicle manufacturers, completely reshuffling the entire new energy industry.
With a new king emerging, investors were first to fully price in expectations. In just two months, Zero Run's stock price surged nearly 50% from 51 Hong Kong dollars in June. As of August 20th, Zero Run's Hong Kong stock market value briefly exceeded the 100 billion mark during trading.
"Zero Run has made tremendous progress in the capital market, from a low of over 20 dollars to a high of 76 dollars now, with trading volume growing from millions to tens of millions, sometimes reaching over a billion. Many funds are beginning to pay attention to Zero Run," Zhu Jiangming told Wall Street Insights.
The continuous triumphant progress has indeed boosted internal morale, but Zhu Jiangming doesn't consider himself aggressive. He knows it's not time to pop champagne yet. In his view, ranking fluctuations are temporary: "Including WM Motor and Neta, many brands that were once sales champions have now disappeared. It's Zero Run's turn today, which is nothing special."
On the eve of the final battle, all players are striving to squeeze into the first tier. Competitors like Deepal, Ledao, Zeekr, BYD Dynasty/Ocean, and Geely Galaxy are all pressing hard, wanting to grab a share from Zero Run's success.
"We just won the war of resistance, and we've just crossed the break-even line. If Zero Run cannot rapidly increase sales volume to strengthen profitability and increase market share, it could be very dangerous," Zhu Jiangming believes. The next three years will be the industry's most brutal final period: "Zero Run must maintain its running speed to keep moving forward without being trampled underfoot."
For this, Zhu Jiangming has clear plans: achieve 500,000-600,000 units this year, reach one million units in two years, and sprint toward 4 million units in five years. The company wants to continue transcending circles to become a global automotive industry giant, standing tall in the industry.
During this earnings call, management fast-tracked Zhu Jiangming's vision, advancing the million-unit target by one year.
Zhu Jiangming has said that the one million target must be achieved - it's the survival baseline, otherwise the company would struggle. Only automakers with annual sales of one million units can achieve stable profitability. In the traditional fuel vehicle era, Great Wall and Geely both experienced the baptism of over one million units before truly becoming well-known automakers. Zero Run must also go through this process.
However, how will Zero Run achieve this goal? Zhu Jiangming's solution is to make every model an industry evergreen, maintaining hot sales momentum.
From the product planning perspective, last year the C series product matrix in the 100,000-200,000 yuan range was completed, helping Zero Run solidify its market position. This year, the B series will further penetrate downmarket, seeking incremental growth in the 60,000-100,000 yuan range. In 2026, the A and D series will launch, ultimately forming a complete product line covering the mainstream price range of 60,000-300,000 yuan to meet different consumer tier needs.
According to internal planning, Zero Run will introduce the third B series new model at the Munich Auto Show this year. Next year will be Zero Run's major product year, launching five to six models, including flagship SUVs and MPVs from the A and D series.
**Securing Victory**
Having found the path to positive cycles, Zhu Jiangming seems to have won his bet. Behind this gambling spirit lies his clear understanding of capabilities, resources, and circumstances.
Zhu Jiangming, who understands technology iteration patterns well, believes that "electric vehicles are electronic products, and their iteration and price reduction speed will definitely be much faster than traditional fuel vehicles. Two years is an update cycle for smart electric vehicles."
In his view, under current market conditions of consumption downgrading, value for money will increasingly become consumers' preference. "Some users who are accustomed to buying Chanel might occasionally buy Uniqlo, and they might also buy Zero Run. After using it and finding it's no different, they become loyal fans."
Although Zero Run's scale still can't match BYD and others, by controlling core technology and supply chain pricing power, once scale begins to rise, it will undoubtedly gain greater leverage on the profit scale.
To join the "million club," Zero Run has two hidden trump cards - expanding into lower-tier markets and accelerating overseas expansion.
Zhu Jiangming revealed that Zero Run wants to expand into third and fourth-tier cities, where there's still substantial untapped demand - also a consistent target for XPeng, Zeekr, NIO, and others. While seeking domestic stock, Zero Run's partnership with automotive giant Stellantis NV has fast-tracked its overseas market layout.
Currently, Zero Run has deployed approximately 600 stores in Europe and other regions through dealer partnerships. Sources close to Zero Run reveal that its overseas channel deployment is rapid, especially with Stellantis NV's brand endorsement. Global models like the B series are expected to quickly open markets and drive this year's overseas sales beyond expectations.
Meanwhile, Zero Run's Malaysia factory will achieve local assembly of the C10 by year-end, with internal plans to achieve European local production next year, providing insurance for overseas volume expansion amid tariff turbulence. Zero Run's goal is to double overseas sales next year, reaching 100,000-120,000 units.
With accumulated experience in global models and Stellantis NV's support in local market insights, Zero Run's globalization path may move faster than most new energy vehicle brands. This represents a "dimensional reduction attack" on other new energy vehicle brands and is also core to Zero Run's ability to secure victory in the red ocean market, ultimately achieving significant volume increases and profitability.
Zhu Jiangming once candidly admitted that compared to global automakers, Zero Run only earned some meal money: "The top ten automakers all make huge profits. We only have some improvement in volume, and while our profits and gross margins seem good compared domestically, as Zero Run rapidly enters overseas markets, this is also very beneficial for gross margin improvement."
While exporting, Zero Run also added a layer of profit protection by leveraging its role as a technology supplier.
Evolving from automaker to tier-1 supplier, Zero Run's role in the industry has further expanded, with its in-house R&D technology system entering a return period. Institutional analysts believe that if Zero Run can continue to license electronic architecture to automakers and this income becomes recurring revenue, its valuation multiples could have continued upward space.
From maintaining "engineering" fundamentals through comprehensive in-house R&D, focusing on the 150,000 yuan market as the "automotive Uniqlo," to sharing technology and overseas markets with Stellantis NV, Zero Run's imagination as a automotive "quasi-giant" is rapidly being realized.
In the global new energy vehicle market, a new disruptor has emerged.
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