(Yicai) April 17 -- China’s auto market grew strongly last year, but fierce competition kept carmakers’ per-vehicle profits extremely slim, with three still losing money on each one sold.

None of the 12 major listed Chinese automakers made a profit of more than CNY10,000 (USD1,465) per vehicle in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, according to their earnings reports.

Seres ranked first by average selling price and profit per vehicle. The Chongqing-based new energy carmaker’s mean price was about CNY304,800 (USD44,660) last year, while profit per vehicle was CNY9,936, making it the only one of the 12 with per-car profit close to CNY10,000 and the only one with an average price above CNY300,000.

Electric vehicle manufactures Li Auto and Nio also had relatively high prices, exceeding CNY250,000 on average, but only Li Auto turned a profit per vehicle of CNY5,857. Nio reported the largest loss per car of the 12 automakers. Based on non-generally accepted accounting principles, the Shanghai-based firm’s loss narrowed, but was still about CNY38,000 (USD5,570) per vehicle.

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, the country’s auto production and sales last year jumped 10.4 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, taking the industry to new highs. But profit across the industry was just CNY461 billion (USD67.5 billion), with a profit margin of 4.1 percent, a historic low and well below the national industrial average of 5.31 percent.

Six carmakers had an mean per-unit price of between CNY100,000 and CNY170,000: BYD, Great Wall Motor, Geely Automobile Holdings, Chery Automobile, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, and Xpeng.

BYD continued to rank first with annual sales of 4.6 million units, and its average price was CNY140,900, with profit per vehicle of CNY6,398. For Great Wall Motor, the mean price was CNY147,900 and profit per vehicle was CNY4,577.

The figures for Geely were CNY102,800 and CNY4,764, while Chery had an average price of CNY10,350 and a profit per vehicle of CNY7,228, indicating that its global strategy is working, with profits boosted by strong overseas demand.

Leapmotor achieved its first annual profit, with an average price per vehicle of CNY103,900, and a per-unit profit of CNY1,810. The average price of an Xpeng car was CNY159,200, and after adjustments, its losses narrowed to CNY1,071 per vehicle.

There were also mixed fortunes for carmakers with an average price per vehicle of less than CNY100,000. SAIC Motor’s cars cost CNY91,000 on average and profit per vehicle was CNY1,647. Changan Automobile, which sold nearly 3 million vehicles, had an average price of CNY53,400 and profit per vehicle of just CNY960.

GAC Group had an average price per vehicle of CNY40,100, and a loss per unit of CNY5,729, making it the only traditional automaker to sink to a loss.

Editor: Tom Litting