SAIC Motor profit rises 4.1% as tax hike slows sales growth
SAIC Motor Corp., China's biggest automaker, reported a 4.1 percent rise in net profit for the first quarter, a period when a tax increase on small cars slowed sales growth.
The Shanghai automaker has joint ventures with Volkswagen AG and General Motors and makes its own brands of vehicles.
The company posted a net profit of 8.3 billion yuan ($145 million), according to a company statement on Friday.
Both VW and GM are strong in the small sedan segment that benefited from a tax cut on cars with engines of 1.6 liters or less. Both automakers suffered from weak China sales in the first three months after the tax rose to 7.5 percent on January 1, up from 5 percent last year.
The tax will return to the normal 10 percent rate next year.
SAIC's revenue in the first three months rose 6 percent to 196 billion yuan from a year earlier. Vehicle sales rose 3 percent for the quarter.
Overall sales in China's auto market rose 7 percent in the first quarter, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Automakers with hot-selling crossovers and SUVs, such as Honda Motor Co., have outperformed the overall market as sedan sales remain flat.
The company posted a net profit of 8.3 billion yuan ($145 million), according to a company statement on Friday.
Both VW and GM are strong in the small sedan segment that benefited from a tax cut on cars with engines of 1.6 liters or less. Both automakers suffered from weak China sales in the first three months after the tax rose to 7.5 percent on January 1, up from 5 percent last year.
The tax will return to the normal 10 percent rate next year.
SAIC's revenue in the first three months rose 6 percent to 196 billion yuan from a year earlier. Vehicle sales rose 3 percent for the quarter.
Overall sales in China's auto market rose 7 percent in the first quarter, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Automakers with hot-selling crossovers and SUVs, such as Honda Motor Co., have outperformed the overall market as sedan sales remain flat.
