China’s auto sales went up while profits reduced

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China’s auto sales in September rose 5.5% from a year earlier, and the auto sales in Jan-Sep period increased 3.6% from a year earlier. The industry’s year-on-year sales growth increased month after month since May. Their year-on-year sales growths in the Jun-Sep period were 1.7%, 2.5%, 4.4%, and 5.5% respectively.

The sales of passenger vehicles in September increased 8.8% from a year earlier, up 4 percentage points from a month earlier. The sales of heavy trucks in September decreased 12.4% from a year earlier. The sales of buses in September grew 7% from a year earlier. The accumulative sales of buses in Jan-Sep period went up 14% from a year earlier.

CAAM data shows that the auto export in September reduced from a month earlier, but still rose 50% from a year earlier. The full-year auto export is expected to surpass 800,000 units, up 47% from a year earlier.

17 key automakers saw their operating income in the Jan-Aug period up 9.2% from a year earlier to 1.4951 trillion yuan, and their total profits up 6.4% from a year earlier to 151.3 billion yuan. The industry profits are expected to reduce from 2010, and the industry’s profitability started to fall obviously from the third quarter.

By the end of this August, the average price of the locally-made vehicles decreased 0.9% from the end of 2010, and it was mainly due to the sharp decline of the average price of passenger vehicles.