Profit of China's auto industry down 48.8 percent in 1st half year

China's auto industry saw a profit fall of48.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2005, as against a 12.6 percent growth in the same period last year, a spokesman for the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) said at a press conference Tuesday.

The profit of China's auto industry plunged by 20.6 billion yuan (2.54 billion US dollars), which was a major reason for the profit downslide of the machinery industry, SDRC reported.

China's car output reached 1.34 million in the first half of this year, up 5.2 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's car output reached 275,100 in June, up 26 percent from the same period last year, after the seasonal adjustment in May.

Source: Xinhua