Haier's $1.8 billion "big bet" on Autohome

Author | Huang Yu

Editor | Wang Xiaojun

From the health industry to the automotive industry ecosystem, Haier, one of the "three giants of white goods," is continuously expanding its capital landscape.

After news broke at the end of last year that Haier would acquire Autohome, on February 20, Haier Group announced that it would acquire 41.91% of Autohome's shares from Ping An Insurance for $1.8 billion, becoming the controlling shareholder of this leading Chinese automotive vertical platform.

Yunchen Capital, a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance, was the original controlling shareholder of Autohome. After transferring 41.91% of its shares to Katai Chi Holdings, a subsidiary of Haier, it will continue to hold 4.98% of Autohome's shares.

Autohome is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With the acquisition of Autohome, the number of listed companies under Haier Group will increase to eight.

This transaction will accelerate the construction of a new automotive industry ecosystem for Haier's automotive ecological brand Katai Chi, further improving Haier's digital economy industrial ecosystem layout, while also expanding Haier's overseas financing channels.

Haier stated that after the transaction is completed, Autohome will serve as a key hub in Haier's automotive industry ecosystem, continuing to consolidate and develop its existing business with the joint support of Haier and Ping An Insurance.

Acquiring Autohome undoubtedly showcases Haier's ambitions in the automotive industry ecosystem to the public.

As a well-known traditional home appliance company, Haier has been seeking new performance growth points for the past forty years. Its business scope has long since expanded beyond home appliances, and it has now strategically laid out three major tracks: smart home ecosystem, health industry ecosystem, and digital economy industrial ecosystem, with the automotive industry ecosystem categorized under the digital economy industrial ecosystem.

As early as ten years ago, Haier first ventured into the automotive parts field through the open innovation ecosystem platform HOPE in collaboration with Faurecia. By 2017, Haier's industrial internet brand Kaos was established, serving the automotive industry and providing solutions for new energy battery management, among others.

After initial exploration, in 2022, Haier's construction in the automotive industry ecosystem began to take shape with the establishment of the automotive industry internet platform Katai Chi. Currently, it offers comprehensive solutions for the entire process and lifecycle of vehicle usage, including personalized vehicle customization, vehicle trading, and smart electricity usage, while continuously exploring the construction of a home-vehicle interconnection ecosystem.

The used car business has been a key focus for Katai Chi in recent years. Offline, Katai Chi has frequently acquired used car dealerships to expand its store footprint. According to Katai Chi's official website, the company currently has 28 offline stores located in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Chengdu. Online, Katai Chi also established an online self-operated mall for used cars in July 2024.

Now, Katai Chi is in a period of accelerated ecological integration and needs platforms like Autohome to assist.

As one of the three major automotive vertical portal websites in China, Autohome not only has automotive vertical media business but also has laid out innovative businesses such as data products, new and used car trading, and offline energy space stations According to QuestMobile data, in December 2024, the daily active users of Autohome's mobile platform increased by 13.6% year-on-year, reaching 77.48 million. In addition, offline, the rapid expansion of Autohome's franchise stores—Autohome Space Station and satellite stores—has now exceeded a total of 150 locations.

By integrating Autohome's user data and content resources, Kataychi's business can quickly reach precise customer groups, forming a closed loop of "online traffic + offline service."

However, Autohome is currently facing pressure for performance growth.

Financial reports show that from 2021 to 2023, Autohome's operating revenues were 7.237 billion yuan, 6.941 billion yuan, and 7.184 billion yuan, respectively; net profits attributable to the parent company were 2.149 billion yuan, 1.807 billion yuan, and 1.88 billion yuan, respectively.

In 2024, Autohome's performance declined again. According to the financial report released by Autohome on February 20, 2024, it achieved operating revenue of 7.04 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 2.01%; net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.62 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 13.86%.

Clearly, compared to the short-term performance growth pressure on Autohome, Haier believes that this acquisition will be a good business opportunity to improve the construction of the automotive industry ecosystem.

In the context of sluggish growth in the home appliance industry, both the health industry ecosystem and the digital economy industry ecosystem are important tracks that Haier must focus on.

In the future, to grow and strengthen in these tracks, Haier has frequently expanded its capital layout through acquisitions and spin-offs in recent years.

Currently, the company has a total of 6 listed companies, including Haier Smart Home, Yinkang Life, Haier Bio, Thunder Technology, Shanghai Laishi, and Zhongmiao Holdings. In addition, on February 16, Haier Kaos Industrial Intelligence signed a share transfer agreement with the industrial robot leader, New Times ( 002527.SZ ), to gain control of the listed company.

Having firmly established itself as one of the "three giants of white goods," Haier will face a significant challenge for its management team to replicate past successes in more tracks in the future