Six Chinese automakers have entered the Fortune Global 500, but their combined net profits are not as high as this Japanese automaker

On July 19, 2018 Fortune magazine released the latest list of the world's top 500 companies. There are 120 Chinese companies on the list, including 6 vehicle manufacturers, namely: SAIC (36th), Dongfeng Motor (65th), BAIC (124th), FAW (125th), GAC (202nd), and Geely (267th).

Among the six automakers, except for FAW, the rankings of the other automakers have all improved. The one that has made the most progress is undoubtedly Geely. Geely is not only the only private enterprise on the list, but its ranking has also soared by 76 places.

It is a good thing that six Chinese automakers have entered the Fortune Global 500. However, it cannot be ignored that, except for Geely, all of the six automakers on the list are dominated by joint venture products. SAIC's total sales in 2017 reached 6.93 million vehicles, of which only 730,000 were self-owned brands.

Looking at the profitability of these six automakers, the picture is even less optimistic. Except for Geely and FAW, which just exceeded 4%, the others were all below 4%, with Dongfeng Motor having the lowest profit margin of only 1.50%.

Although Chinese automakers have risen the fastest in the rankings among the listed automakers, their profitability is relatively poor compared to multinational automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen.

In 2017, Toyota's revenue reached US$265.172 billion, its profit reached US$22.51 billion, and its net profit margin reached 8.5%. Although the total revenue of the six Chinese automakers on the list reached US$452.723 billion in 2017, 1.7 times that of Toyota, their total net profit of US$13.71 billion was only 60% of Toyota's.

Not only Toyota, but Japanese cars as a whole have a strong ability to attract money. Renault's operating income was only US$66.247 billion, but its net profit margin reached 8.7%, with a net profit of US$5.765 billion. Honda's profit margin reached 6.8%, making it the second highest net profit among the listed automakers. Subaru, which ranked last among the listed automakers, also had a net profit margin of 6.5%. Even Suzuki, whose main models are A-class and A0-class small cars, has a net profit margin of 5.7%.

It can be said that China's car companies have indeed grown bigger, but they are still a long way from becoming truly strong.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.