SAIC Motor H1 profit may have quadrupled

SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest automaker, said its first-half profit may have more than quadrupled from a year earlier because of rising demand for vehicles in the world's most populous nation.

The Shanghai-based automaker didn't provide earnings figures in a statement today to the city's stock exchange. Net income was 1.4 billion yuan ($213 million) in the first half of 2009, according to the statement.

China's passenger-car sales have risen every month since February 2009 after the government halved consumption tax on small vehicles. SAIC, a partner of General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG, increased sales of Buick Excelle compacts, VW Passat sedans and other vehicles by 44 percent to more than 1.77 million units during the first half, today's statement said.

Listed companies in China are required to make an announcement if they expect earnings to rise or fall more than 50 percent in a reporting period. The company will provide detailed earnings on Aug. 26, it said.

SAIC rose 1.3 percent to 14.42 yuan as of 9:57 a.m. in Shanghai trading. The stock has declined 28 percent this year.

GM, Volkswagen

Partners GM and Volkswagen are the two largest foreign automakers in the nation, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. China is the world's biggest auto market.

GM and its local ventures, which include separate car and minivehicle-making partnerships with SAIC, are "on track" to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China this year, four years ahead of schedule, the U.S. automaker said on April 12.

SAIC said on June 24 it aims to raise as much as 10 billion yuan in a share sale to expand development of its own-brand vehicles.

The company forecasts sales of 3 million units this year, President Chen Hong said on May 25.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive Co., SAIC and GM's minivan venture, aim to boost sales by 41 percent to 1.5 million vehicles annually by 2015 from last year, Shen Yang, president of the venture said on July 18.

China's passenger-car sales to dealerships rose at the slowest pace in 15 months in June as inflation reduced consumers' purchasing power.