Joint venture partnerships helped lift the sales of China's SAIC Motor Corp (formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation). SAIC's joint ventures with General Motors Co and Volkswagen helped boost the sales of China's largest car manufacturer. SAIC previously inked agreements with Volkswagen and General Motors Co to sell mini-vehicles, cars and vans in China. 

An exchange filing revealed that for the first half of this year, net profits of SAIC Motor rose to 6%. From January to June this year, SAIC was able to post a net profit of CNY 11.5 billion.  In the same period last year, SAIC's net profit was pegged at CNY 10.78 billion. The number of vehicles SAIC sold during the first half also increased by 15% compared to a year earlier. The carmaker was able to deliver 2.6 million vehicles, a number which outpaced the 12% growth in the Chinese car industry.

The world's second largest economy also holds the record of being the world's largest automobile market.