Recently, blogger @Wu Pei posted data concerning the profit margins and profit per vehicle of car companies for the first half of 2026 on a social media platform. This data shed light on the mounting profitability pressures within the automotive sector, prompting the blogger to candidly remark, "Making money in the car business is really tough; it's not as profitable as selling smartphones."

According to the data, Geely Auto emerged as the leader among the car companies that announced their figures, boasting a profit margin of 5.2% and a profit of RMB 6,389 per vehicle. It stood out as the sole car company with a profit per vehicle surpassing RMB 6,000. Great Wall Motors reported a profit margin of 2.4% and a profit of RMB 4,281 per vehicle. BYD's profit margin for the first quarter was 2.7%, with a profit of RMB 5,770 per vehicle. Changan Automobile's profit margin ranged from 0.6% to 0.8%, translating to a profit per vehicle between RMB 619 and RMB 811. Leapmotor, on the other hand, had a profit margin of 0.55% and a profit of RMB 589 per vehicle.

Data from the China Passenger Car Association further revealed that in the first half of the year, the profit margin of China's automotive industry stood at 3.8%, with total profits amounting to RMB 195.4 billion, marking a year-on-year decrease of 20%. Industry revenue reached RMB 5.19 trillion, showing a slight year-on-year increase of 1.8%, while costs climbed to RMB 4.61 trillion, with a growth rate of 2.8%. Notably, the growth in costs significantly outpaced that of revenue. The industry's sales profit margin has been on a downward trajectory for three consecutive years and remains notably lower than the average profit margin of 6.5% for downstream industrial enterprises.