Geely Automobile Holdings, Chery Automobile and BYD, the most profitable listed Chinese carmakers last year, all reported double-digit declines in net profit in the first quarter, highlighting a squeeze at home amid reduced purchase incentives.

Hangzhou-based Geely, the country’s second-largest carmaker behind BYD, said in a filing on Wednesday that its net profit for the January-March period slid 27 per cent year on year to 4.17 billion yuan (US$610 million).

The profit slump came even as growth in exports and sales of high-end models boosted first quarter revenue by 15 per cent from a year earlier to 83.8 billion yuan, an all-time high for the period.

“Sales volume in the domestic market has not yet recovered after the phasing out of the purchase tax incentives,” said Gui Shengyue, Geely’s CEO and executive director, during an earnings call on Wednesday.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) buyers were exempt from the country’s 10 per cent vehicle sales tax last year, but are now paying a 5 per cent levy. The tax will return to the full 10 per cent rate in 2028.

Geely attributed its profit decline mainly to losses in foreign exchange, but its total sales volume for the quarter inched up only 1 per cent from a year earlier to 700,940 units.