<div id="readability-page-1"><div id="news-body">(Yicai) May 21 -- Five of the 12 leading Chinese carmakers posted drops in net profit, and three others saw their losses widen in the first quarter, as the industry's overall profitability continued to deteriorate.Leapmotor Technology was the one with the largest expansion in net loss, which increased 200 percent to CNY390 million (USD53 million) in the first quarter from a year earlier. Net losses of BAIC Group and JAC Motors widened 189 percent to CNY830 million and 172 percent to CNY606 million, respectively.Of the profitable automakers, Changan Automobile saw its net profit fall the most, down 74 percent to CNY351 million. Net profit of BYD slid 55 percent to CNY4.1 billion (USD612.5 million), that of Great Wall Motor shrank 46 percent to CNY945 million, and those of Geely Automobile and Chery Automobile dropped 27 percent and 10 percent, respectively, to CNY4.2 billion each.Four carmakers -- Seres Group, SAIC Motor, GAC Group, and BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology -- reported increases in net profit or drops in net losses in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier. However, the net profit growth of Seres and SAIC was under 1 percent, and the loss declines of GAC and BAIC BluePark were modest, pointing to a fragile and uneven recovery.Despite the reduced profitability, nine of the 12 leading automakers continued to ramp up research and development investment.China's auto industry generated CNY2.41 trillion (USD354.6 billion) in revenue in the first quarter, down 0.2 percent from a year earlier, while costs rose 0.7 percent to CNY2.14 trillion, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association. Its profit fell 18 percent to CNY78.4 billion (USD11.5 billion), with a profit margin of just 3.2 percent.The industry has not shown any signs of recovery in the second quarter. China's retail passenger car sales dropped 16 percent to more than 1.4 million units in April from a year earlier, and in the first 17 days of May, they plunged 23 percent to about 680,000 units from the same period last year, according to CPCA data.The profit pressure is not unique to China. Volkswagen Group's net profit shrank 30 percent in the first quarter, while those of Mercedes-Benz and BMW fell 17 percent and 23 percent, respectively.Seven major Japanese automakers, including Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, and Nissan Motor, are expected to report a combined net profit of JPY3.9 trillion (USD24.5 billion) for fiscal year 2026, down about 48 percent from the record JPY7.54 trillion posted in fiscal 2023, according to Nikkei Asian Review.Editor: Futura Costaglione</div></div>

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In the first quarter, five of China's 12 major automakers reported profit declines, while three others saw losses widen. Leapmotor Technology's net loss surged 200% to CNY390 million. Changan Automobile's profit fell 74% to CNY351 million, and BYD's dropped 55% to CNY4.1 billion. Despite this, nine automakers increased R&D investments. The auto industry generated CNY2.41 trillion in revenue, down 0.2%, with profits falling 18% to CNY78.4 billion. Retail passenger car sales also declined significantly in April and early May, indicating ongoing challenges.

Yicai

LEAPMOTOR

CHANGAN AUTOMOBILE

BYD Company

BYD Company Limited

Hwabao WP CSI Intelligent Electric Vehicle ETF

ChinaAMC CSI Hong Kong Connect Automobile Industry Thematic ETF

BAIC MOTOR

BYD COMPANY

GWMOTOR

Great Wall Motor

GEELY AUTO

CHERY AUTO

SERES

SAIC Motor

GAC GROUP

GAC Group

BAIC BluePark

Volkswagen AG

Volkswagen

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG ADR EACH REPR 0.33333 SHS SPONSORED

Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota Motor

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Motor

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Nissan Motor

BYD HK SDR 10to1

BYD COMPANY-R

GWMOTOR-R

GEELY AUTO-R

GEELY AUTOMOBILE HOLDINGS LIMITED SPON ADS EACH REP 20 ORD

Geely Auto

Volkswagen AG Pref

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Pref

Toyota

Eight of China's 12 Major Automakers See Profit Decline or Loss Widen in First Quarter