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Last year, China’s automotive industry experienced significant growth, yet intense competition resulted in razor-thin per-vehicle profits for automakers, with three companies still incurring losses on each car sold.
None of the 12 leading publicly traded Chinese car manufacturers surpassed a profit of CNY10,000 (approximately USD 1,465) per vehicle over the 12 months ending December 31, according to their financial disclosures.
Seres led the pack with the highest average selling price and profit per vehicle. This Chongqing-based new energy vehicle company sold cars at an average price of about CNY304,800 (around USD 44,660), earning a profit of CNY9,936 per car. It was the only one among the 12 with nearly CNY10,000 in profit per vehicle and the only one with an average price exceeding CNY300,000.
Electric vehicle manufacturers Li Auto and Nio also maintained relatively high average prices, exceeding CNY250,000. However, only Li Auto posted a profit per vehicle of CNY5,857. Nio reported the largest loss per car among these brands. Using non-standard accounting methods, Nio’s losses narrowed but still amounted to approximately CNY38,000 (about USD 5,570) per vehicle.
Data from the China Passenger Car Association shows that last year’s auto production and sales grew by 10.4% and 9.4%, respectively, setting new industry records. Despite this, overall industry profit was only CNY461 billion (roughly USD 67.5 billion), with a profit margin of 4.1%. This represents a historic low, well below the national industrial average of 5.31%.
Six companies had an average per-unit price ranging from CNY100,000 to CNY170,000. These include BYD, Great Wall Motor, Geely Automobile Holdings, Chery Automobile, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, and Xpeng.
BYD maintained its top position with annual sales of 4.6 million units. Its average selling price was CNY140,900, and it earned a profit of CNY6,398 per vehicle. Great Wall Motor’s average price was CNY147,900, with a profit per car of CNY4,577. Geely’s figures stood at CNY102,800 and CNY4,764, respectively. Chery’s vehicles averaged CNY10,350 in price, with a profit of CNY7,228 per car—demonstrating the effectiveness of its global strategy, driven by strong overseas demand.
Leapmotor achieved its first annual profit, with an average selling price of CNY103,900 and a profit of CNY1,810 per vehicle. Xpeng’s average car price was CNY159,200, and after adjustments, its losses narrowed to CNY1,071 per vehicle.
Among brands with average vehicle prices below CNY100,000, results varied. SAIC Motor’s vehicles cost around CNY91,000 on average, with a profit of CNY1,647 per unit. Changan Automobile, which sold nearly 3 million vehicles, had an average price of CNY53,400 and profit per car of just CNY960.
GAC Group’s vehicles averaged CNY40,100, but the company experienced a loss of CNY5,729 per vehicle, making it the only traditional automaker to report a loss.
[Note: Removed specific mention of the editor and Yicai as per instructions.]
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