[Cui Dongshu: Automotive Industry Profit Margin 3.6% in January-August 2026, Revenue Up 2.9%, Costs Up 4%, Profit Down 16%] Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, stated that in the first eight months of 2026, the electronics industry, driven by artificial intelligence, saw a 1.1-fold increase in profits, and upstream raw material industries experienced high profit growth, significantly contributing to the overall improvement in industry profits. The automotive industry, however, faced the dual pressures of rising costs and weak demand, resulting in poor profitability. In August 2026, automobile production reached 2.7 million units, with sales revenue of 928.1 billion yuan (up 4.2%), costs of 831.3 billion yuan (up 5.3%), and profits of 37.1 billion yuan (up 24%), resulting in a sales profit margin of 4%. In the first eight months of 2026, automobile production reached 20.31 million units (down 3% year-on-year), with revenue of 7.0062 trillion yuan (up 2.9% year-on-year), costs of 6.237 trillion yuan (up 4% year-on-year), and profits of 253.4 billion yuan (down 16% year-on-year), resulting in a sales profit margin of 3.6%. In 2026, various regions vigorously promoted the implementation of the "two new" policies, gradually and effectively releasing the vitality of domestic demand. However, the improvement in the profitability of the automotive industry lagged significantly behind other consumer goods. As the national anti-involution efforts continued, the automotive industry was severely squeezed by upstream suppliers, facing serious price issues. Soaring oil prices and soaring profits in non-ferrous metals and semiconductors led to a wait-and-see attitude among end users, increasing the operational pressure on automakers and severely impacting their high-quality development.
