Chinese automobile industry expects lower profits
The Chinese partners of General Motors and Ford announced that they expected net earnings in the first half of 2005 to drop more than 50%. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., a partner of Ford Motor, and Shanghai Automotive Co. Ltd., owner of GM's main Chinese car plant, both announced that they expected profits to be down by more than 50% year on year in the first half of 2005. The two companies blamed the tough competition in Chinese auto market and the rising raw materials costs for the drop in their earnings. The earnings of Changan was RMB 798.72 million ($96.5 million) in the first half of 2004, while Shanghai Automotive's earnings were RMB 1.43 billion ($173 million).