Gasgoo.com (Shanghai March 28) - According to figures appearing in a report in Beijing News today, Dongfeng Motor's net profit in 2011 fell 18.69 percent, ending at 464 million yuan ($73.31m). The manufacturer's total business returns for the year totaled 21.39 billion yuan ($3.38b).

In its annual performance review, Dongfeng attributes the fall in profit to the phasing out of certain government policies, increasing price of fuel, domestic financial issues and tapped out demand for new automobiles. Dongfeng sold a total of 319,000 vehicles last year, a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent. By comparison, the manufacturer sold 301,000 vehicles in 2010, representing a year-on-year increase of 44.8 percent.

Dongfeng subsidiary Zhengzhou Nissan saw its sales increase 15.4 percent last year, bringing in 236 million yuan ($37.29m) in net profit. Worth mention is that more than half of Dongfeng's net profit last year came from the Zhengzhou Nissan JV.