On 5 August, the 2024 Fortune World 500 list was unveiled.

This year's Fortune 500 list companies have combined revenue of about $41 trillion, equivalent to one-third of global GDP, a slight increase of about 0.1 per cent over last year. The threshold (minimum sales revenue) to make the list this time increased from $30.9 billion to $32.1 billion. The combined net profit of all companies on the list rose 2.3 per cent year-on-year to about US$2.97 trillion.

A total of 133 Chinese companies are on the list this year, nine fewer than last year. The total revenue of the 133 Chinese companies on the list will be about US$11 trillion in 2023, a drop of about 6 per cent compared with the 142 companies on last year's list; the average sales revenue is about US$83 billion, which is lower than the average revenue of US$99 billion of the U.S. companies on the list, and slightly higher than the average of the full list of 500 companies.

The rise of the automotive industry has made Chinese companies in the automotive sector a highlight of this year's list. Among the 15 sectors in which Chinese companies are listed, the development of "automobiles and components" is more prominent: a total of 10 Chinese automotive and automotive components companies entered the 2024 Fortune 500, compared to 9 last year, with Chery appearing on the list for the first time. 10 companies are: SAIC, FAW, BYD, GAC, Geely, BAIC, Dongfeng, CATL, Chery and Jardine Matheson.

The ranking of 10 enterprises has increased year-on-year by more than half, with Chery on the list for the first time and BYD improving its ranking the most. It is worth mentioning that on the return on equity (ROE) list, Chery was ranked 40th with a ROE of 35 per cent, and three automotive industry companies, Chery, CATL and BYD, were on the list of the top 10 Chinese companies in terms of ROE.

For the first time on the list, Chery Group ranked 385th with $39.1 billion in revenue. 2023, Chery Group's business performance created "three historical highs": the Group's annual revenue exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time, an increase of more than 50% year-on-year; annual sales of 188,131,616 automobiles, a year-on-year increase of 52.6%; the Group exported 937,148 automobiles, an increase of 52.5% year-on-year. The Group's annual export of 937,148 cars, up 101.1% year-on-year, for 21 consecutive years ranked first in the export of Chinese brand passenger cars. In the first half of this year, Chery Group continued to maintain the accelerated development trend, the first half of the sales of automobiles exceeded 1.1 million, a strong year-on-year increase of 48.4%, a record high.

SAIC ranked first among the ten Chinese automotive companies on the list, and 93rd on the overall list. 2004 saw SAIC on the Fortune 500 list for the first time, and 2014 saw SAIC's first entry into the top 100, and so far it has ranked among the top 100 for eleven consecutive years.

BYD ranked 143rd, the most improved Chinese company, up 69 places from the previous year. 2023, BYD's annual sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 3.02 million units, reigning as the world's champion of new energy vehicle sales, and becoming the first Chinese automobile company to rank among the top ten in global auto sales. In the first half of this year, BYD's new energy vehicle sales reached 1,613,000 units, an increase of 28.46 per cent year-on-year, maintaining a strong growth momentum.

Geely Holding was ranked 185th, up 40 places from the previous year's ranking, with revenue increasing from $60.4 billion to $70.4 billion. Geely Holding Group's total vehicle sales in 2023 will be about 2.79 million units, up 20% year-on-year; new energy vehicle sales will be about 980,000 units, up 51% year-on-year, with new energy penetration reaching 35%.

Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) has been listed in the Fortune Global 500 for 12 consecutive years, with its latest ranking of 181st, down 16 places from the previous year. In addition, FAW ranked 129th, up two places from the previous year; BAIC ranked 192nd, up one place from the previous year. Dongfeng Motor ranked 240th, down 52 places from the previous year. Jardine Matheson ranked 421st, down 26 places from the previous year.

The performance of component companies and technology companies is also noteworthy. 2023, CATL entered the Fortune 500 for the first time with its sales revenue of US$48.8 billion, reaching No. 292. This year, CATL' sales revenue on the list increased again from US$48.8 billion to US$56.6 billion, and the ranking improved by 42 places to reach No. 250. CATL company 2023 revenue of 409.917 billion yuan, up 22.01 per cent year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company 44.121 billion yuan, up 43.58 per cent year-on-year. In the first half of this year, CATL achieved operating income of 166.767 billion yuan, compared with the same period last year, down 11.88%.

In addition, outside the list of vehicles and components sub-industry, Huawei ranked 103rd with $99.470 billion in revenue. Huawei smart car solutions BU gradually mature, as of early July 2024, Huawei car BU revenue reached 10 billion yuan; Xiaomi Group ranked 397th. Fortune Chinese mentioned in the list release article that Xiaomi Auto is a dark horse in China's new-energy smart cars, and that the auto business revenue will also have an impact on the company's future ranking on the list; Changan Automobile's parent company, China National Armaments Corporation, and China CNR Group Corporation, were ranked 343rd and 451st on the Fortune Global 500 list, respectively.

The list shows the innovation and breakthroughs of Chinese automotive companies in new energy vehicles and intelligence. In the wave of change of new energy vehicles, Chinese auto brands have not only occupied an important position in the domestic market, but also made a big splash on the global stage. Intelligent transformation is also a keyword that Chinese automotive companies cannot ignore, and companies have increased R&D investment in cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent driving and Telematics in an effort to seize the first opportunity in the wave of intelligence. At the same time, technology companies like Huawei and Xiaomi have also entered the automotive field across the border by virtue of their accumulation in artificial intelligence and other fields, bringing a new mode of thinking and technical solutions to the automotive industry. In addition, the excellent performance of Chinese automotive enterprises in automotive exports not only enhances the international influence of Chinese brands, but also provides valuable experience for other Chinese enterprises to "go global".

The release of the 2024 Fortune 500 list is not only a summary and affirmation of the past year's business performance of global enterprises, but also a preview and outlook of the future development trend. Against the backdrop of the continuous evolution of the global automotive industry, the rise of China's automotive enterprises is not only reflected in the number and ranking on the list, but also in the comprehensive improvement of their technological innovation, internationalisation strategy and sustainable development capability, and China's automotive industry is moving towards the higher end of the global value chain.

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