SAIC Motor Corp., the biggest automaker in China, reported a 28.9% drop in earnings for 2019 as an industrywide sales slump undermined manufacturers’ profitability in the world’s largest market.

Net income at the company, a partner of Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co., fell to 25.6 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) for 2019, it said Monday in a statement. Analysts predicted earnings of 27 billion yuan on average. Revenue fell 6.88% year-on-year.

SAIC sold 6.2 million cars in 2019, down 11.5% from a year earlier.

Trade tensions and slowing economic growth weighed on car demand in China in the past two years, causing a slump that’s since been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Automakers are betting on new models to lure potential shoppers back to showrooms as the government loosens stay-at-home orders aimed at fighting the spread of the virus.

SAIC said the country’s auto sales this year may fall by 8.1% to 11.6%, compared with the 8% decline last year. A market restructuring may force smaller players out of business, the company said.

Shares of SAIC fell 1.3% Monday ahead of the earnings announcement, bringing this year’s slide to 22%.

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