While not the largest sector, China's automakers realised 9% of all profit generated by industrial sectors.
Auto manufacturing ranked as the most profitable of 41 industrial sectors in China in the first half of this year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Despite being the fourth-largest industrial sector in China by revenue, behind iron and steel, chemicals and communications equipment, auto profits accounted for 9% of the total income realised by the manufacturing sector.
Overall, automakers achieved 233bn yuan ($38bn) of profit in the first six months of 2013, a long way ahead of the oil and natural gas extraction sector’s 203bn ($33bn) of profit. The news comes despite increasing stockpiles and a national downturn in new car sales.
China’s steelmakers have suffered considerably in the first half. Aggregate profit of China’s top 86 producers was just 2.3bn yuan ($375m as razor-thin margins ramp up the pressure on big producers. Industry profitability plummeted 98% in 2012 and in the first half of 2013, steel makers were making just 0.43 yuan on the ton – not even enough to buy a 1 yuan ice cream.