SAIC Motor Corp., the biggest automaker in China, reported a 29 percent drop in 2019 earnings as an industry-wide sales slump undermined manufacturers’ profitability in the world’s largest market.
Net income at the company, a partner of Volkswagen Group and General Motors Co., fell to 25.6 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) for 2019, it said in a statement Monday. Analysts predicted 27 billion yuan on average. Revenue fell 7 percent.
Trade tensions and slowing economic growth weighed on light-vehicle demand in China in the past two years, causing a slump that’s been since exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak.
Automakers are betting on new models to lure potential shoppers back to showrooms as the government loosens stay-at-home orders aimed at fighting the spread of the virus.