New Businesses Increased by 12%

HONG KONG, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) ("Autohome" or the "Company"), the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December 2021. Net revenues amounted to RMB7.24 billion in 2021. Adjusted net income attributable to Autohome Inc. amounted to RMB2.58 billion in 2021, with the adjusted net margin maintaining the comparatively high level of 35.7%. Revenue from new businesses grew by 11.6%, with its contribution to the total revenue increased from 23.2% in 2020 to 30.9%.

Mr. Quan Long, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Autohome, said, "Despite the challenging macro environment in 2021, Autohome has made a steady progress and achieved two significant milestones. Autohome completed its listing on HKEX in mid-March 2021 and we are delighted to embark on a new journey to increase Autohome’s exposure to Hong Kong’s capital markets. During the Investor Day held in September, the Company unveiled the ecosystem strategy to bolster Autohome’s integration with Ping An’s auto ecosystem, making the unique suite of full-cycle auto ecosystem services as well as the leading-edge platform accessible to an even broader base of C-end customers, B-end OEM customers and other partners in the auto ecosystem. In addition to our dividend policy with an annual dividend payout ratio of approximately 20%, Autohome has also launched a US$200 million share repurchase program to reward our shareholders for their long-term support."

C-end: Highlight the traffic advantage and keep enriching the ecological content

In terms of C-end customers, Autohome adheres to "three more" strategies, with "more groups", "more ways" and "more scenarios", and focuses on expanding video content as well as other engaging content appealing to younger users. With a growing, diversified and quality content library, the Company continued to expand the user base and maintains its leading position in the automotive vertical market in China.

Regarding the traffic, according to QuestMobile, in December 2021, the mobile daily active users of Autohome reached 46.9 million with an 11.4% year-on-year increase, ranking first in the automotive Internet platform. According to the report issued by Aurora Mobile, Autohome’s app penetration rate was the highest in the auto media vertical industry.

Regarding the content, Autohome is devoted to developing content offerings including short-video, live streaming and content for new energy vehicle ("NEV") centric online community to enhance their product power and reshape the content strength. Autohome also prioritized their resources to continuously create blockbuster content and IP. With respect to the scenarios, Autohome took the lead in delivering an innovative model covering the new scenario of the live auto show and immersive online shopping experiences at the 2021 Guangzhou International Auto Show. Furthermore, Authohome also launched the largest online auto owners’ manual library, motorcycle model library and auto modification library, which along with their 3D modification tools to meet the diverse needs of users.

B-end: Traditional and new business grow together and innovation drives the business development

For the traditional business, despite the unfavorable factors such as ongoing global chip shortage and the elevated price of raw materials, Autohome continues to maintain its leading position with the highest market share in the automotive vertical media industry. Furthermore, the Company also launched an innovative R2S (Resource to Solution) model empowering OEMs with an integrated, one-stop solution. Meanwhile, the annual leads subscription package "Cheshanghui" contract renewals process was better than expected, with an 88% renewal rate of the high-end version including the premium and tech versions. Further, the quality of the lead business has also greatly improved. According to Analysis China, Autohome is an industry leader in terms of both sales leads volume and leads connection rates in 2021.

Under the guidance of the "auto ecosystem" strategy, Autohome actively deployed innovative business tracks to create a new peak of the long-term growth and energize the industry transformation. In 2021, Autohome focused on three businesses like data-driven technology, new energy and used car. Revenue from new business increased by 11.6% year-on-year, representing approximately one-third of the total revenue.

Regarding the data-driven technology, in 2021, the average number of digital products purchased per dealer customer has increased by 18% year-on-year to 3.59. In addition, Autohome has collaborated with a total of 22 mainstream NEV brands in 2021, with revenue generated from the NEV business increasing by 128% year-on-year, representing 60% of market share in the media vertical among mainstream emerging NEV players. With respect to used cars business, Autohome has further expanded its business through deepening synergy with TTP Car Inc. ("TTP"), creating an integrated platform connecting information, operations and trades. The used car business is driving forward with an asset-light and platform-focused strategy. As a result, TTP’s financial performance is consistently improving.

Looking forward to 2022, we will fully integrate into the Ping An’s auto ecosystem and exploiting both advantages to the full. With close collaboration between the two parties, they will jointly build a tremendous offline team and outlets among internet companies, connecting massive high-value customer base and over 140 million car owners with Ping An. Autohome and Ping An is determined to create a unique and full-cycle auto ecosystem among the industry."

Mr. Long added, "2022 will be a year of challenges and opportunities. Looking ahead, we will continue to  bring  best-in-class  products  and services  to  our  users  and  customers   to  enable  our  sustainable  growth  and  long-term  value  creation through adhering to our value proposition and furthering the ecosystem-based strategic transformation.  Meanwhile, we will strategically invest in new territories and implement  strategy upgrade, enabling the company to return to growth trajectory".  

About Autohome

Autohome Inc. (NYSE: ATHM; HKEX: 2518) is the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. According to QuestMobile, the company ranked first in the industry with 67.72 million monthly active users in September 2021. Its mission is to enhance the car-buying and ownership experience for auto consumers in China. Autohome provides professionally produced and user-generated content, a comprehensive automobile library and extensive automobile listing information to automobile consumers covering the entire car purchase and ownership cycle.

The ability to reach a large and engaged user base of automobile consumers has made Autohome a preferred platform for automakers and dealers to conduct advertising campaigns. Further, the Company’s dealer subscription and advertising services allows dealers to market their inventory and services through Autohome’s platform extending the reach of their physical showrooms to potentially millions of internet users in China and generating sales leads for them.

The Company offers sales leads, data analysis and marketing services to assist automakers and dealers improving their efficiency and facilitating transactions. As a transaction-centric company, Autohome operates "Autohome Mall," a full-service online transaction platform facilitating transactions for automakers and dealers. Further, through its website and mobile applications, it also provides other value-added services including auto financing, auto insurance, used car transactions and aftermarket services.

For more information, please visit our website: http://ir.autohome.com.cn/