Profits of China's auto manufacturers up 66% in H1

Shanghai. August 15 (Gasgoo.com) – The combine after-tax profits of China's top 16 automotive groups reached 30.2 billion yuan (US$3.99 billion) in the first half year, representing an increase of 66% from a year earlier, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

Total revenues from core business of the top 16 automobile groups reached 486.6 billion yuan, said Zhu Yiping, director of the Information Center under CAAM. Top three automakers, including First Automobile Works (FAW), Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), and Dongfeng Motor Corp, all recorded revenues of more than 80 million yuan in the first half year.

The Big Three were followed by Guangzhou Automobile Group, Beijing Automobile Industry Corp, Changan Automobile Group, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co (Sinotruk), Chery Automobile Co and Jianghuai Automobile Group.

Although price war has eroded some profits from new car models, almost all major automakers—both local and joint venture automakers, witnessed substantial profit rises, said Guo Yong, director of market information from the Beijing Asian Games Village Automobile Exchange Market, a barometer for China’s automobile industry.

In the first half year, with the exception of a few automakers including FAW Toyota Motor and Guangzhou Honda, all major automakers in China joined the price war.

As for revenue, Guangzhou Auto, South East (Fujian) Motor Co, Chery and Brilliance all experienced rises of more than 50 percent, while others including Geely, Jianghuai, Changan and SAIC posted a moderate increase.

Chery Automobile, the fourth largest and fastest growing automaker in China, posted a profit growth of 210.6 percent in the first half year.

Meanwhile, a few Chinese makers saw their profits down in the first half of this year. Profits of Changhe Auto and Geely fell 5.05 percent; profits of Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corp and Hafei slumped 12.50 percent and 19.34 percent respectively due to sluggish car sales in the first half year.