Shanghai Automotive Industries (SAIC), China’s largest domestic auto manufacturer, announced a tenfold increase in 2009 profits to US$967 million, Bloomberg reported. Sales increased 32% to US$20.45 billion, driven by government stimulus spending and increased demand in second- and third-tier cities for the company’s lightweight commercial vehicles. China became the world’s largest automobile market in 2009 when the government reduced the consumption tax on lightweight vehicles, which propelled demand for SAIC’s Sunshine lightweight commercial vehicle, among others. The Sunshine is produced as part of a joint venture with General Motors and Liuzhou Wuling Motors, and proved particularly popular in rural areas. SAIC sold a total of 2.72 million vehicles in 2009.
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