CHINA reported nearly 70 percent soar in profit of auto industry during the first three months of this year, said the country's Ministry of Commerce yesterday in Beijing.

The country's several major auto makers harvested a combined profit of 12.75 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) in the first quarter, jumping by 69.9 percent from a year before, the ministry said, citing figures from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group and Chery Automobile Co Ltd made most contributions to the growth.

Geely, the Chinese company which bought British manufacturer Manganese Bronze in 2006, reported almost 30 times of profit growth in the period on a yearly basis.

The Hong Kong-listed company sold 51,135 cars in the three months, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier, and equivalent to 21 percent of its annual sales target.

This year, Geely said it aims to sell 240,000 cars under the Geely and Maple brands.

Sinotruck, the country's largest maker of trucks bigger than 14 tons, sextupled its net profit in the period, said the association.

The Chinese partner of Volvo AB said in a previous report that it will invest 800 million yuan by 2010 to double its capacity.

The commercial vehicle manufacturing group aims to sell 125,000 heavy duty trucks by 2010, of which one-third will be exported to overseas markets.

Chery, the nation's fourth-largest auto maker, reported 4.1 times of net profit in the first three months of the year.

It targeted to sell 400,000 units this year after it sold 300,000 units last year, a 60 percent jump from a year ago, according to a previous report.

The Wuhu City, Anhui Province-based car maker launched a 1.3-liter A1 compact car on May 18 in Shanghai, priced between 53,800 yuan and 59,800 yuan. The firm expects sales of 8,000 A1 cars this year.