A visitor looks at new energy vehicles (NEVs) during a promotional activity for NEVs in rural areas held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Automobile manufacturers in China saw a year-on-year rise in profits in the first four months of the year, despite adverse factors such as the epidemic situation and the increase in raw material prices, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported on Tuesday.
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed that the domestic automobile manufacturing industry realized a profit of nearly 180 billion yuan (about 28.26 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months, representing a surge of 160 percent year on year, accounting for 6.9 percent of the total profits achieved by the designated large enterprises with annual business turnovers of at least 20 million yuan (about 3.11 million U.S. dollars).
Meanwhile, during the period, the automobile manufacturing industry yielded operating income of nearly 2.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51.7 percent, 18.1 percentage points higher than that of industrial enterprises above designated size in the same period, and accounting for 7.6 percent of total operating income achieved by the designated industrial enterprises.
However, it is worth noting that the chip shortage and rising prices of raw materials such as steel are also affecting the turnovers and profits of the automakers. In April, the profit growth rate of the automobile manufacturing industry declined compared with that of the previous three months. For example, more than 40 tire companies have announced price increases this year.
Under such circumstances, some automobile enterprises have shifted their focus to the development of new energy vehicles (NEVs).
In 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic had a significant impact on the automobile market, and the entire automobile industry was greatly affected. However, thanks to the policy support and robust market demand, the domestic auto market in 2021 is expected to maintain a sustained upward trend, especially in the NEV field, which will prompt more and more automobile enterprises to accelerate the transformation towards the NEV business, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association. (Edited by Hu Pingchao with Xinhua Silk Road, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
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