Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (吉利汽車) said yesterday its net profit last year rose 35 percent from a year earlier, helped by government incentives aimed at driving up sales of small cars.
The automaker, whose parent is buying Volvo Cars, sold 326,710 units last year, up 60 percent from 2008, lifting its share of China’s sedan market to more than 4 percent, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Geely — the listed unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding, one of China’s largest private carmakers — said full-year net profit rose to 1.18 billion yuan (US$173 million) last year from 879.1 million yuan in the previous year.
“The increase was partly helped by the government’s policies to promote economy sedans but also as a result of the improving product quality and rising customers’ satisfaction over Geely’s products,” the statement said.
Sales more than tripled to 14.1 billion yuan from 4.3 billion yuan.
The results were also boosted after Geely completed a deal with its parent in July 2008 that increased its stakes in five car-making subsidiaries to 91 percent from 46.8 percent.
China’s auto sales soared to 13.64 million units last year on government policy incentives, outstripping those of the US for the first time in January last year to make the Asian giant the world’s biggest car market.
These measures included slashing taxes on cars with engines smaller than 1.6 liters and subsidizing clean-technology vehicles.
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