Brilliance China Automotive Holdings, which has made a loss for two years, will turn a profit in the second quarter on strong sales of self-branded Zhonghua sedans and BMW cars, according to chairman Wu Xiaoan.
The carmaker met 42 per cent of this year's total sales target of 210,000 units in the first five months as its Zhonghua sedan attracted 50,000 buyers, a jump of 263 per cent year on year, Mr Wu said.
'We're confident the company will return to profit this year,' he said.
Former Dalian City mayor Qi Yumin was brought in last year to help the Liaoning-based Brilliance China emerge from a period of management turmoil and falling sales.
The provincial government until then had been running the firm after founder Yang Rong fled to the United States in 2002 denying accusations of committing economic crimes.
Brilliance China's loss narrowed to 398.4 million yuan last year from 649.6 million yuan in 2005 as sales jumped 92 per cent to 10.5 billion yuan.