Similarly, domestic automakers have also been continuously increasing their investment in research and development in recent years. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2025, BYD’s research and development expenses reached 14.22 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 34%. Geely Holding’s research and development expenses reached 6.56 billion yuan, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Investment in research and development is one of the reasons for the increase in the debt ratio of enterprises. However, when enterprises pass the high-intensity R&D cycle and the technologies developed in the early stage enter the large-scale application stage, R&D will be transformed into revenue and profits, thereby reducing the debt ratio.

Judging from the changes in financial report data over the years, domestic automakers have entered a virtuous cycle of “high R&D and excellent development”, and their asset-liability ratios have generally shown a downward trend. Among the six automakers that announced their debt-to-asset ratios in the first quarter of 2025, all showed a decline. Specifically, Seres saw a drop of over 10% in the first quarter, while BYD’s ratios decreased by 7% in the past six months.