FAW Car Co., a Shenzhen-listed partner of Mazda Motor Corp., said Friday profit growth slowed to 2.9 percent last year after price cuts failed to stem a decline in Mazda6 sales.

Net income was 347.4 million yuan (US$45 million) in 2006, compared with 337.6 million yuan a year earlier, the Changchun, Jilin Province-based carmaker said in a preliminary earnings statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company’s profit grew 7.9 percent in 2005.

Mazda6 sedan sales fell 8 percent last year as FAW Car’s reliance on parts made by Mazda in Japan limited its ability to make price cuts. SAIC Motor Co., China’s largest automaker, and other carmakers have slashed prices because of rising competition in the world’s second-largest auto market. China vehicle sales rose 25 percent in 2006.

The Mazda6’s price is less flexible because of its imported parts, which limited the company’s sales growth, said Xie Shuguang, an analyst at Shanghai Securities Co.

FAW Car’s earnings per share remained at 0.21 yuan, while sales fell 3.6 percent to 9.96 billion yuan, the automaker said.

Shares of FAW Car fell 3.5 percent to 7.26 yuan Friday. The stock has gained 80 percent this year, compared with a 28 percent gain in the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index.

Sales of Mazda6s, which account for about 80 percent of FAW Car’s unit sales, fell to 46,025 last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The carmaker cut Mazda6 prices by as much as 8.9 percent in June. The car costs from 182,300 yuan. (SD-Agencies)