(Yicai Global) July 9 -- Shares of Changan Automobile reached a more than two-year high after the troubled Chinese state-owned carmaker said that its sales recovered in June, and mostly spurred by its self-developed brands.

Changan's stock price [SHE:000625] touched CNY13.25 (USD1.90) today, the highest since December 2017.

The auto company sold 38 percent more vehicles at 194,400 units in June from a year ago, the Chongqing-based firm said in a statement yesterday. In the first half, its sales climbed 1.3 percent from a year earlier amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

It looks like Changan could use the win as the company has been suffering from a sales slump for three consecutive years, causing foreign partners Suzuki and Groupe PSA to withdraw from its JVs. Consequently, the Chinese firm's shares have fared poorly in the past couple of years.

But things started looking up in the third quarter of last year as sales improved with the main driver of transformation being Changan-branded vehicles with better profit margins.

Last month, the manufacturer's self-owned brands grew in popularity as sales rose 39 percent to 146,600 units from a year ago. Sales of joint venture Changan Ford Automobile climbed 37 percent to 22,100 units and Changan Mazda Automobile sold 31 percent more at 12,600 units.

Comparing the firm with other major state-owned automakers, Changan stands out as its bad JV performance has forced it to invest in its own models, which has yielded results, a securities analyst told Yicai Global.

But it could do better if its existing JVs also shaped up. "Changan should make restoring the JVs' contributions to sales volume and profits, especially those by Changan Ford, a priority in the years to come," the analyst added.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine