Gasgoo.com (Shanghai August 31) - A slow market has been affecting several automobile enterprises in China, with performance reports for the first half of 2011 from GAC Changfeng, Changan, Foton and FAW Xiali all showing the manufacturers' net profits falling, the Beijing Times reported today.
Among the four manufacturers listed above, SUV manufacturer Changfeng saw the largest loss in the first half of this year with a net loss of 21.46 million yuan ($3.37m), representing a performance fall of 115.51 percent for the manufacturer. With Changfeng's biggest buyer traditionally being the government, new guidelines restricting what sort of vehicles can be used for official use have hurt the manufacturer's sales.
Meanwhile, FAW Xiali, Foton and Changan's net profits dropped 84 percent, 38.45 percent and 23.89 percent, respectively. All three manufacturers were heavily affected by the earthquake in Japan earlier this year, with Foton also citing the rising cost of fuel and recent monetary policies as other reasons.
Several manufacturers also point to the phasing out of certain preferential purchase policies as a key factor behind poor performance in the first half of the year.
