China Association of Automobile Manufacturers: In the first quarter of 2025, the revenue of the automobile industry exceeded 2.4 trillion, an increase of 8%, with costs increasing by 9%, profits decreasing by 6%, and a profit margin of 3.9%, further declining profit margin.

The sub-association pointed out that with the intensification and expansion of the policy of replacing old consumer goods with new ones, the diversified consumer scenes are constantly innovating, driving the benefits of the industries and chain industries where related products are located in a positive direction. In the first quarter, industrial enterprises' profits turned from a decline to an increase, but the automotive industry still lagged behind. In the first quarter, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 0.8% compared to the same period last year, reversing the trend of continuous decline in accumulated profits since the third quarter of last year. In March, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 2.6% from a 0.3% decrease in profits from January to March, and the monthly profits of enterprises improved slightly. Driven by the replacement and subsidy policy for car purchases, in the period from January to March 2025, 7.51 million cars were produced, and the income of the automotive industry was 2.4022 trillion yuan, an increase of 8% year-on-year; costs were 2.1119 trillion yuan, an increase of 9%; profits were 94.7 billion yuan, a decrease of 6% year-on-year; and the profit margin of the automotive industry was 3.9%, which is lower than the average profit margin of downstream industrial enterprises at 5.6%, indicating that the automotive industry is still relatively low. In March, the income of the automotive industry was 921.4 billion yuan, an increase of 7% year-on-year; costs were 814.2 billion yuan, an increase of 9%; profits were 32.7 billion yuan, a decrease of 28% year-on-year; and the profit margin of the automotive industry was 3.5%. The automotive industry needs to effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency, and increase cost control measures. With the recent expansion of the automobile production scale and the decline in the PPI, the upstream cost of lithium carbonate has decreased. Car companies face enormous profit pressures if they do not produce batteries, and as engines are replaced by batteries, profits of car companies may continue to decline. The central and local governments are actively stabilizing fuel consumption, promoting the strong implementation of scrapping and renewal policies, and expect that the implementation of "equal rights for oil and electricity" will promote "equal strength for oil and electricity," ensuring that the overall situation of the automotive industry will continue to remain stable and improve in the future.