SAIC Motor Group reports increase in sales

The SAIC Motor Group, China’s biggest automaker, reported retail sales up 2.8 percent in June to 479,000 vehicles from the same period of last year.

It said it had achieved positive year-on-year growth of retail sales each month since April and that sales had increased by 101.8 percent in the second quarter compared with this year’s first quarter.

Sales in the first quarter had been impacted by the COVID-19 situation, but the automobile industry was now in recovery, and the Shanghai government’s policies to promote purchases had achieved good results.

In the first half of the year, SAIC focused on technological innovation, laying a foundation for future sustainable development, it said, with great efforts in the field of new-energy vehicles, intelligent and connected vehicles and software technology.

SAIC said its business performance in overseas market is good, with its self-owned brand sales overseas reaching 79,000 units, a 17.3 percent increase year on year.

In the second half of the year, SAIC will announce commencement of business in Mexico. SAIC's MG brand will also enter Spain, Switzerland and Germany.

In early April, Shanghai said it would further rev up auto consumption and released a series of policies. A number of new car launches and preferential promotions took place during the two-month Double Five Shopping Festival. SAIC held an auto carnival at the Shanghai Exhibition Center from May 1 to May 10.

Zhang Xiaofeng, an independent market analyst, said consumer confidence is improving and thus SAIC Motor's performance is also improving. In the second half of this year, Zhang said SAIC is expected to continue to perform well.