Chinese carmaker Shanghai Auto Industry Corporation (SAIC) posted positive net profit sales of more than six percent at 15.06 billion yuan ($2.25 billion) in the first half of the year, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange last week.

The Shanghai-based company's recent figure was 6.31 percent higher than the 14.17 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) it earned during the same period in 2015, Yahoo! News reported. Furthermore, SAIC sold a total of three million cars in the first six months of 2016 that ended in June 30, up by 4.9 percent year-on-year, maintaining its place as the biggest car maker by sales in China.

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According to the Global Times, SAIC, which produces cars with Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co., said that a "stable growth trend" in China's local market supported its earnings. The Wall Street Journal also noted that the company's sales growth was boosted by a tax break that encourages small car purchases.

In October last year, China implemented a five percent tax break, reducing the purchase tax on small car units with engines of 1.6 liters and below. The tax cut saw a desirable outcome in the first seven months of the year, with auto makers selling up to 12.65 million units, up by 11 percent from a year earlier.

However, with the tax break about to expire at the end of this year, industry experts are questioning if the rebound would continue. Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen's China President, has been quoted saying that he was "more unsure as to what will happen next year."

Meanwhile, SAIC said its sales lagged behind the industry following a sharp decline in the demand for minibuses. Although the company refused to tackle market competition in its earnings reports, its foreign partners have also voiced concerns about the outlook in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Tagssaic, volkswagen, General Motors, car sales, china