BAIC joins Fortune 500

For the 2013 Fortune 500, Beijing Automotive Group ranks 336, with revenue at $33.4 billion and profits of $1.07 billion.

BAIC issued its mid-year operating numbers on Tuesday, showing first half sales reached 1,000,800, up 26.9 percent year-on–year, while income was over 125 billion yuan, up 34.5 percent with profits totaling more than 8.1 billion yuan, up 18.6 percent.

The passenger car leads BAIC sales, with 644,784 units sold in the first half of 2013, up 45.0 percent from 2012. Sales of national brand passenger cars saw a nearly twofold increase, with 90,100 units sold compared to the first half of 2012. As for joint venture brands, Beijing Hyundai sold 514,800 units, up 38.1 percent; Beijing Benz sales totaled 48,400 units, up 34.5 percent; Beiqi Foton sales reached 347,400 units, up 4.7 percent.

In terms of commercial vehicles, though small and light truck sales decreased year-on- year, other market segments experienced a sales increase, especially with mid-sized and heavy trucks. BAIC commercial vehicle sales totaled 335,989 units, up 3.4 percent compared to the same period of 2012.

In the future, BAIC will focus on the development of new energy vehicles with plans to sell 3,000 all-electric cars this year. In addition, BAIC plans to form a joint venture with SK Group, one of the largest Korean companies specializing in energy, the chemical industry and information communication systems, in order to establish a power battery company in Beijing.