Recently, Xiaopeng Group has reached a cross regional carbon point trading agreement with Porsche and several international car companies, covering markets such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The total transaction revenue is expected to exceed 1 billion yuan, and more than 500 million yuan of carbon point related income can be achieved in 2026 alone. The value of this cooperation goes far beyond financial benefits. It marks a qualitative change in the logic of Chinese car companies going global: from passively adapting to overseas regulations in the past, to relying on pure electric sales and carbon management capabilities, and assisting international car companies in achieving emission compliance in reverse. Carbon point trading has become a new collaborative model for Chinese and foreign car companies.

Strict regulations drive the urgent need for compliance, while the pressure of fines forces car companies to seek carbon solutions

The continuous tightening of carbon emission policies and the implementation of high penalties in the global automotive market are the underlying driving forces behind the rapid rise of carbon credits trading, with the EU's strict emission assessment rules being the core driver. According to the new regulations implemented by the European Union since 2025, the average carbon emissions of passenger car fleets need to be reduced to 93.6 grams per kilometer. For every 1 gram exceeding the standard, a fine of 95 euros will be imposed on each vehicle. The industry estimates that the maximum potential fine could reach 15 billion euros, forcing traditional car companies to rethink their carbon compliance strategies.

Volkswagen Group is a typical case. By 2025, the average carbon dioxide emissions from its fleet will be 100 grams per kilometer, exceeding the EU target value. Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz has stated that if the 2025-2027 emission targets cannot be achieved, the group will face a cumulative fine of up to 1.5 billion euros, with an average annual fine of approximately 400 to 500 million euros.

Porsche faces more prominent compliance pressures. The brand has recently increased its focus on fuel vehicles, resulting in a decline in sales of electric vehicles. As of June this year, Taycan sales have decreased by about 20% year-on-year, while Macan pure electric version sales in the European market have decreased by 30%; Only the new Cayenne pure electric version has achieved growth, but its size is still small. According to Dataforce data, the average carbon emissions of Porsche fleets reached 130.2 grams per kilometer in the first half of this year, an increase of 9.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Under the dual pressure of slowing down electrification transformation and fines, Porsche has chosen to withdraw from the internal emission pool of Volkswagen Group and join hands with Xiaopeng to build an open compliance alliance, in order to find a more cost-effective and certain compliance path.

This cooperation covers multiple regional regulatory systems, proving that carbon credits trading is not a short-term phenomenon in a single market, but a continuously expanding institutional market on a global scale. EU regulations allow multiple car companies to form a joint emission pool to uniformly calculate the average carbon emissions of their fleets; High emission fuel and performance brands can purchase surplus carbon credits from pure electric vehicle companies to offset excessive quotas and avoid fines. Although the EU has adjusted its assessment method to evaluate based on the three-year average from 2025 to 2027, the target has not been lowered, and fines have only been postponed rather than cancelled, further amplifying the rigid demand for carbon credits.

Why Xiaopeng? Stabilize overseas pure electricity sales and build carbon asset supply capacity

The essence of carbon credits trading is to transform the advantages of electrification technology into tradable carbon assets, and the delivery scale of pure electric vehicle models directly determines the supply capacity of credits. Xiaopeng has sufficient carbon credits reserves, relying on continuously increasing overseas sales and high-end product structure.

In the second quarter of 2026, Xiaopeng's overseas sales exceeded 20000 units for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 81%; In the first half of the year, overseas business revenue accounted for over 25%, and the average selling price of vehicles exceeded 40000 euros. Single vehicle revenue and gross profit ranked among the top domestic overseas car companies. From January to July 2026, Xiaopeng will remain the top selling pure electric brand among China's new forces in Norway, Denmark, France, Portugal and other countries. Xiaopeng's carbon credit supply is not an accidental result of short-term market momentum, but a stable accumulation of sales in multiple high-value European markets. The stability and predictability of credit quotas are significantly better than other short-term high-volume players.

Porsche has separated from the internal emission pool of Volkswagen Group and independently chosen Xiaopeng to jointly build the emission pool. After rigorous calculations, it was found that Xiaopeng's carbon credit scheme is superior to the internal allocation of the group in terms of cost and compliance certainty. This emission pool is managed by Porsche, covering the years 2026 and 2027, and belongs to an open alliance. Other brands are welcome to join. There are currently multiple similar open emission pools worldwide, including those operated by Tesla (with participation from Ford, Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki) and Mercedes Benz (with participation from Volvo, Polestar, and Smart). Xiaopeng's invitation to cooperate with Porsche confirms that its carbon credit supply strength has been recognized by international mainstream car companies.

The Vice President of Xiaopeng Group stated that the international host manufacturers' choice to cooperate with Xiaopeng reflects the continuous improvement of Xiaopeng's global influence. Previously, Xiaopeng established a good reputation through years of strategic cooperation with Volkswagen Group, creating a foundation for future connections with more overseas car companies. Domestic car companies have long had a precedent in the field of EU carbon credits. In 2025, Zero Run Motors sold EU carbon credits to Stellantis for a revenue of 1.11 billion yuan, and the transaction limit was raised to 2.8 billion yuan in 2026. Industry analysis points out that carbon credits are not a one-time accidental gain, but rather an added value derived from overseas sales expansion and optimization of pure electric product structure. With the gradual entry of MONA L03, G9L and other models into overseas markets, there is still room for further growth in the trading carbon credits scale of Xiaopeng.

Restructuring the relationship between Chinese and foreign car companies: from product export to comprehensive output of technology and carbon capacity

This cross regional carbon credit cooperation is regarded as a landmark case of Chinese car companies upgrading from simply exporting complete vehicles to comprehensive output of products, compliance systems, and carbon management capabilities. Industry views believe that the next stage of competition for car companies going global is not only product strength, but also the ability to understand and implement global green rules.

Xiaopeng's collaboration with Volkswagen did not begin with carbon credits. Starting from 2023, both parties will continue to collaborate in multiple dimensions: Volkswagen will invest approximately $700 million in Xiaopeng to acquire software architecture and intelligent driving technology; Sign joint development agreements for platforms and electronic and electrical architectures in 2024; Build a domestically leading ultra fast charging network by 2025; In 2026, the full-size pure electric SUV "Yuzhong 08" jointly built by both parties will be put into mass production and pre-sale, equipped with Xiaopeng's new generation VLA intelligent driving system.

This collaboration demonstrates a paradigm shift in the industry: Chinese and foreign car companies bid farewell to the traditional "market for technology" and enter a new stage of two-way output of technology and carbon management capabilities. Volkswagen accelerates its transformation with the help of Xiaopeng's electric platform and intelligent technology, while optimizing emissions accounting through its pure electric sales volume; Xiaopeng relies on Volkswagen's mature global manufacturing and channel network to accelerate its overseas expansion, and enriches its income structure through technology licensing and carbon point trading. Carbon point trading is the most innovative part of this new type of industrial cooperation, turning the first mover advantage of Chinese car companies in electrification into a carbon asset recognized and tradable in the international market.

It is worth noting that Porsche's withdrawal from the Volkswagen emissions pool may actually reduce the overall carbon emissions of the Volkswagen Group, and high emission models will no longer be included in the group's statistics. This strategy of pool management indicates that carbon compliance has shifted from internal coordination within the group to flexible market-based allocation across enterprises and brands.

There are still long-term challenges behind diversified income, and supply chain carbon capacity is the ultimate competitive point

Carbon credits revenue is an important part of Xiaopeng's diversified income layout, and also a microcosm of domestic car companies upgrading overseas. Xiaopeng is building a revenue structure with "whole vehicle as the foundation, technical services as the growth engine, carbon credits as the supplement, and physical AI as the long-term outlook", and the growth of technical services business is impressive. In the second quarter of 2026, service and other business revenue accounted for only 13.7%, but contributed 49.6% of gross profit; This sector mainly comes from technology research and development services for the public, with a gross profit margin of up to 75.1%. Technology licensing and carbon credits share a similar business logic: revenue does not fully follow the linear growth of vehicle delivery, but rather packages and monetizes the accumulated capabilities of electrification and intelligence. During the period of pressure on vehicle gross profit margins, high gross profit non vehicle businesses are used to support profitability levels.

However, carbon credits income is highly dependent on policies and cannot be used as a long-term valuation core. The EU will adjust its assessment cycle in 2026. If emission targets are further relaxed and carbon pricing rules are modified in the future, the scarcity and trading value of carbon credits may shrink. There are also structural weaknesses in the industry: short-term point income is difficult to cover the investment in low-carbon transformation throughout the entire industry chain; The lack of unified global carbon accounting standards continues to drive up compliance costs for going global. Ding Shanshan, Director of the Green Supply Chain Project at the Public Environment Research Center, suggested that Chinese car companies can take this opportunity to promote the public disclosure of product carbon footprints and drive the deep decarbonization of upstream and downstream industrial chains.

At the same time, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is gradually being implemented and matured. At present, CBAM covers basic raw material industries such as steel, aluminum, cement, and electricity, but the automotive industry chain is deeply bound to it. Steel and aluminum are widely used in the manufacturing of car bodies and battery casings. CBAM will be transmitted from the material end to the entire vehicle, bringing about systematic cost restructuring. In the future competition among car companies, the core is no longer just cost control, but also the ability to manage carbon data in the supply chain. The first mover advantage formed by carbon credit pioneers in carbon data management and full chain carbon footprint tracking will have long-term value far exceeding the benefits brought by carbon credit trading itself.