Three of China’s top four domestic auto groups reported sharp drops in profit or a loss in the first quarter this year. Dongfeng Motor Corp, the second-largest carmaker in China by 2011 sales, reported a 72% fall in net profit to about CNY53 million in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. Its sales in the first three months decreased 4.4% from the same period last year.  FAW Car Co reported a loss of CNY10.9 million in the first quarter as year-on-year sales fell 34%. Chang’an Automobile Group reported a nearly 80% drop in profit to CNY146 million as sales tumbled 17% in the period. Car sales in the first three months declined 3.4% from the same period last year to 4.8 million units. Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp was the only company among the top four that gained in both sales and profit. In the first three months, its net profit increased 6.95% to CNY5.6 billion and sales increased more than 8% to 1.14 million vehicles. Analysts said that the carmaker’s strong performance is largely due to its two successful joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen. Most other domestic automakers also saw profits slump in the first quarter. Guangzhou Automobile Group, the sixth-largest automaker in China, reported a 37% decrease in first quarter net profit to CNY902 million. First quarter profit for Anhui-based JAC Motor declined by 69% to CNY102 million, while sales fell 23%. Profits at BYD Co tumbled nearly 90% to CNY27 million. Its vehicle sales dropped by 8% year-on-year to about 108,000 units from January to March. Great Wall Motors reported its net profit increased 24.9% to CNY1.09 billion.

Shanghai began construction on an automotive research campus, located at Shanghai International Automobile City (Auto City), an industrial park backed by the municipality’s government, which aims to attract 150 companies when it is completed in about 20 months. The research campus, with a total investment of CNY1.5 billion, represents China’s first major effort to develop distinctive models of its own in the world’s largest car market, still dominated by foreign models. “The slowdown in auto sales has reminded Chinese carmakers of the need to strengthen research for their own brands,” said Rong Wenwei, Chief Executive of Auto City. Italian car-design firm Pininfarina is one of the first 17 companies that has agreed to set up research facilities on the campus. China’s major state-owned carmakers have stressed the importance of developing the country’s indigenous brands for about a decade, but little has been achieved thus far by way of creating China’s own Volkswagen or General Motors. International brands dominate the market in China, accounting for 70% of sales nationwide. The development in Anting town in the northwestern suburbs of Shanghai will cover an area of 12 hectares. Its developer plans to attract mostly medium-sized and small enterprises that focus on car design, the weakest link for domestic carmakers, said Rong Wenwei, General Manager of the auto city.

A total of 1,150,850 cars, sport utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and minivans were sold in April, down 9.3% from March but up 6.3% from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said. “We predict a 7% year-on-year increase for the overall vehicle market and a more than 10% jump for the passenger vehicle segment for the whole year,” said CPCA Secretary General Rao Da. General Motors’ joint venture in China sold a record 227,217 vehicles in April – an increase of 11.7% over a year ago. General Motors Co delivered its 1 millionth vehicle for this year in the domestic market. “This is the sixth time and the earliest in our history that we have reached this important milestone in China. It has put us on track to once again set a new sales mark for the year as a whole,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. Ford Motor’s China sales surged 24% to 54,881 vehicles. Luxury-car maker BMW’s sales jumped 31% to 27,197, exceeding its sales growth in the United States and in its home market, Germany. Mercedes-Benz China delivered a combined 15,860 Mercedes-Benz, smart, AMG and Maybach vehicles in April, down 8%. It achieved sales of 70,580 units in the first four months, up 15%. Production of commercial vehicles last month was down 19.4% year on year, to 342,400, while retail sales dropped 15% to 348,400. Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) show that total vehicle sales in April, including commercial vehicles, were up 5.2% year-on-year at 1.6 million units. The SUV sector maintained its leadership with 34% growth, while minivan sales dipped 0.3% as government stimulus measures ended. Vehicle sales by domestic makers fell 5.2% year-on-year to 2.14 million units. Their market share of 42.3% fell by 3.2 percentage points. Statistics from CAAM show that in April, vehicle exports set a new monthly record of 87,400 units, up 29.5% year-on-year. Exports in the first four months rose 23.8% to 278,900 units.

The number of domestic automobile dealer groups with revenue of above CNY10 billion rose quickly last year to 21, from 13 in 2010 and 11 in 2009, an indication of further consolidation in the industry, according to the Automobile Dealers Association (ADA). Combined revenue for the so-called “CNY10-billion club” last year exceeded CNY500 billion, a year-on-year surge of 59% over 2010. Their combined sales and net profit grew by 30% and 61% over the previous year. “Enhanced concentration is the most remarkable feature of China’s automobile distribution sector last year,” said Shen Jinjun, Deputy Chairman and Secretary General of the Association. China Grand Auto became the biggest domestic auto dealer with revenue of about CNY64 billion last year. Former No 1 domestic auto dealer Shanghai-listed Pang Da Automobile Trade Co fell to second place with revenue of CNY55 billion, while Sinomach Automobile Co broke the CNY50 billion benchmark for the first time to claim the third spot. The three were the only auto dealer groups in China with revenues above CNY50 billion last year. The fourth to twenty-first ranked distributors had revenues ranging from CNY10 billion to CNY47 billion. The ADA report also showed that domestic auto dealers are expanding to mid-sized and small cities. Outlets in first-tier cities accounted for about 21% of all shops across the country in 2010, but the proportion fell to 15% last year. The top 100 auto dealers had a total of 5,665 outlets in the country last year, up 82% from the number in 2010. Vehicle sales accounted for the vast majority of the revenue ― some 88% ― for the top 100 dealers last year. Only 7% of their income came through repairs and maintenance, and 4% from auto financing and insurance, the China Daily reports.

• China’s number two carmaker, Dongfeng Motor, plans to boost export sales nearly fivefold to 300,000 vehicles a year by 2016, about 10% of its targeted total production. Dongfeng has set up a new international marketing department and will diversify its range to meet the target. Dongfeng’s total production last year was 2.17 million vehicles and it exported 63,800 units.
• Volkswagen will invest about €170 million building a new plant in Urumqi, capable of making 50,000 vehicles a year from 2015. Its two Chinese joint ventures are investing a total of €14 billion by 2016, and the German-based group has said in the past its annual production capacity in China would rise to 3 million cars as early as next year.
• BYD posted a 90% slide in quarterly profit as a slowdown in the world’s largest car market and losses in its solar business hit the company. Shenzhen-based BYD reported a CNY27 million net profit for the first three months of 2012, down from CNY266.74 million in the previous year. BYD’s car sales fell 4% in the first quarter to 114,000 vehicles, but March sales were up 8% on the year, which outperformed the industry.
• Volvo’s Chinese owner, Geely, offered to take a large minority stake in the Japanese maker of Subaru cars – an offer that was not accepted. Two sources said Zhejiang Geely Holding Group offered to buy a stake of about 20% in Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries late last year through an investment banking intermediary. It could have paved the way for a joint venture in China to produce Subarus, which are now imported.
• Shanghai General Motors will recall some of its 2012 Chevrolet Aveo vehicles because of faulty brake fluid sensors, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIC) said. Shanghai GM will recall 47,415 of the cars due to a defect in the sensors. The defect could fail to alert drivers of low brake fluid levels. Shanghai GM is attempting to contact Aveo owners and will make repairs at no charge, it said.
• Nanjing’s city government has launched an investigation into the Ferrari dealership that staged a car-driving display on the ancient city wall. Ferrari’s China representative has apologized to Nanjing residents for the incident and a government official who allowed the display to take place has been sacked.
• Two mainland car firms may launch initial public offerings in Hong Kong as early as next month to raise a combined HKD6.24 billion, according to market sources. Shanghai-based Yongda Auto, a dealer for brands including BMW, Audi, Porsche and Toyota, plans to raise between HKD3.1 billion and HKD3.9 billion on the Hong Kong stock market, while Xinchen Group, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Brilliance Auto, seeks to raise between HKD1.56 billion and HKD2.34 billion.
• China produced only 6,000 electric vehicles, and no more than 10 models, in 2011, only 0.03% of the year’s total output, well short of the 500,000 industry capacity it had slated to come on stream by 2015. The 16,000 charging piles built in 2011 were also far lower than the industry’s target of 400,000 units by 2015.
• China Auto Rental, the country’s largest car-rental provider, postponed its U.S. share offering due to weak demand. It had expected to raise up to USD137.5 million. Venture capitalists and private-equity fund managers said more Chinese companies were taking a wait-and-see attitude towards U.S. IPOs amid a tighter scrutiny of accounting records and lower buying interest. China Auto would not be able to meet the requirement of three consecutive years of profits imposed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to launch an IPO in China. China Auto, founded in 2007, lost CNY151 million last year.
• Shi Jianhua, Deputy Secretary General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), said the central government may announce plans this year to boost the incentives for the purchase of green vehicles in light of plans to raise production of the vehicles from less than 2,000 units last year to 500,000 in 2015 and 5 million by 2020. The carmakers must cover the incentive at the time the car is sold and then claim it from the government, but some said they encountered problems to get the refund.
• Premium audio and infotainment group Harman International Industries’ business in China has grown from zero five years ago to USD260 million last year, and “we target to have USD350 million revenue for this year,” said Dinesh Paliwal, Chairman, President and CEO of the U.S. company. “We expect our annual sales in China to surge to USD1 billion by 2015, when China will be our largest market in the world,” said Paliwal. “As a company with 75% revenue from the automobile sector, the industry will definitely boost our business, especially with increasing demand for high-end vehicles,” added Paliwal.
• Car plate prices in Shanghai set a record in the April auction, exceeding the CNY60,000 benchmark for the first time. By comparison, a new VW Polo only costs CNY77,900. The average price for a license plate rose to CNY61,626, up CNY3,001 from a month earlier. The lowest price increased CNY2,700 to CNY61,000. The city government increased the quota to 8,500 this month, 500 more than last month. The number of bidders was 22,706, down from 24,897 in March. Shanghai will auction 9,300 car license plates on May 19.
• Nissan’s luxury car unit Infiniti will become the first Japanese luxury brand to start production in China in 2014 in Nissan’s flagship venture with Dongfeng Motor Co. Two Infiniti models will be produced domestically as part of a strategy to increase the global sales of Infiniti to 500,000 units by 2016. China has been the second largest
  market for Infiniti for two years after Nissan started importing the models to the country in 2007. Last year, sales of Infiniti cars rose 60% on an annual basis to 19,075 units in China.
• China imported 284,000 vehicles in the first three months of the year, 21.7% more than in the same period last year. Imports maintained an average year-on-year growth rate of more than 30% over the past decade. In 2011, the total sales of imported automobiles reached 1.04 million. Of those, 1.01 million were passenger vehicles,  In 2011, the imported SUV segment surged 35% to 539,000 units, taking a 53.3% share of the import market, passenger cars accounted for 40% and multi-purpose vehicles took 5%. Jeep and Land Rover led SUV imports in the first quarter, with year-on-year growth rates of 567.6% and 127.7%, respectively.
• The three entry-level vehicle segments ― minicar, subcompact and compact ― account for 55% to 60% of China’s passenger vehicle sales, according to LMC Automotive China. Sales of entry-level vehicles in the first three months of 2012 declined by 5% from the same period last year. Minicars led the decline with a 30% drop in sales compared to the same quarter in 2011.
• China’s First Automobile Works Group Corp is going to revive its legendary brand Hongqi, or Red Flag ― which in 1958 was China’s first domestically produced car ― by launching its luxury model H7 in October, said FAW Chairman Xu Jianyi. The new model will be Hongqi’s first hybrid sedan with core technologies developed by the company itself. The car will compete with Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Four other vehicle types will be developed for the Hongqi brand, including two sport utility vehicles, a multi-purpose vehicle for business use and a mid-size limousine coach for ceremonies and parades. The company said that it has already invested CNY5.2 billion in research and development (R&D) of the Hongqi brand.
• Dongfeng Motor Corp said a new model with the working name Dongfeng-1 is under development, with the first concept model expected to make a world premier at the 2013 Shanghai auto show. Three variants with engine displacements ranging from 1.8-liter to 2.4-liter are planned on the PSA platform. Dongfeng sold more than 3 million vehicles in 2011. Its own-brand vehicles contributed 1.12 million units, one-third of its full lineup.
• Fuji Heavy Industries said it no longer expects to start building cars in China as part of a five-year growth plan that runs until March 2016, and lowered its global sales target for the final year by 50,000 vehicles. It said it would continue to import cars into China after an unsuccessful bid to obtain Chinese government approval for a joint venture with Chery Automobile Co to build Subaru cars. The company now projects Chinese sales at 100,000 vehicles for the year 2015/2016, from an earlier 180,000 target.
• The Shanghai Commission of Consumers’ Rights and Interests Protection warned locals to watch out for car cushions made of substandard textiles that include discarded fabric and medical waste fibers to avoid health hazards. People will suffer from coughing, asthma, and serious respiratory diseases after inhaling the dust and bacteria produced by toxic cushions, the Commission warned.
• For every 100 families in downtown Shanghai at the end of last year, 18 owned private sedans, 13 more than five years ago, according to a new survey.