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Average Automotive Project Engineer Salary in China for 2026

An automotive project engineer in China earns about 233,900 CNY a year. That's 34% below the national average of 351,900 CNY.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in China sit around 125,700 CNY a year, while the very top stretches to 354,000 CNY. Everything on this page is in Chinese yuan (CNY, symbol ¥), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in China, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an automotive project engineer make in China?

Average salary
233,900 CNY
19,491 CNY per month
Lowest reported
125,700 CNY
10,475 CNY per month
Highest reported
354,000 CNY
29,500 CNY per month

A typical automotive project engineer working in China brings home around 19,491 CNY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 125,700 CNY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 354,000 CNY for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior automotive project engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How automotive project engineer pay ranges in China

A good way to think about salary in China is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all automotive project engineers in China earn less than 215,100 CNY a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 154,700 CNY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 263,100 CNY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of automotive project engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 125,700 CNY. The highest stretch to 354,000 CNY, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

125,700
Low
215,100
Median
354,000
High
154,700
25th
263,100
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in CNY

Automotive project engineer pay by experience in China

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an automotive project engineer in China, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical automotive project engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    148,300 CNY
  • 2-5 Years
    +26% from previous
    187,500 CNY
  • 5-10 Years
    +31% from previous
    246,200 CNY
  • 10-15 Years
    +18% from previous
    290,800 CNY
  • 15-20 Years
    +10% from previous
    319,600 CNY
  • 20+ Years
    +7% from previous
    340,400 CNY

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 31%. That is the point at which a automotive project engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Automotive project engineer pay by education in China

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving automotive project engineer pay in China. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average automotive project engineer salary in China broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    192,000 CNY
  • Master's Degree
    +52% from previous
    292,000 CNY

Automotive project engineer gender pay gap in China

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and China is no exception. Male automotive project engineers in China earn an average of 240,500 CNY a year, while female automotive project engineers earn around 228,500 CNY. That works out to a 5% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Automotive Project Engineer gender pay gap

5%

Men earn this much more than women on average in China.

Men 240,500 CNY
Women 228,500 CNY

Pay raises for an automotive project engineer in China

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in China sees a raise of about 11% every 16 months, which works out to roughly 8% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in China, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in China:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education
    2%

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Automotive project engineer bonus rates in China

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

52%

52% of automotive project engineers in China reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an automotive project engineer a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 48% of automotive project engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in China

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Automotive project engineer: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in China is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in China on average.

Public sector 362,200 CNY
Private sector 341,400 CNY

Automotive project engineer salary by city and region in China

Automotive project engineer pay is not even across China. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Shandong
  • Wuhan
  • Jiangsu
  • Hangzhou
  • Jinan
  • Guangzhou
  • Guangdong
  • Zhejiang
  • Tianjin (city)
  • Sichuan
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
ShandongRegion275,800 CNY272,800 CNY138,800-424,900 CNY
WuhanCity271,300 CNY252,300 CNY143,200-409,000 CNY
JiangsuRegion266,000 CNY254,800 CNY138,200-407,300 CNY
HangzhouCity263,200 CNY258,400 CNY134,600-403,100 CNY
JinanCity263,200 CNY249,600 CNY136,200-397,900 CNY
GuangzhouCity261,300 CNY239,000 CNY138,800-392,300 CNY
GuangdongRegion261,300 CNY251,500 CNY136,200-398,300 CNY
ZhejiangRegion259,100 CNY259,100 CNY128,500-399,900 CNY
Tianjin (city)City259,100 CNY265,000 CNY125,700-404,600 CNY
SichuanRegion259,100 CNY239,000 CNY138,200-390,000 CNY
Chongqing (city)City259,100 CNY281,500 CNY117,600-414,000 CNY
HubeiRegion258,400 CNY258,400 CNY129,000-398,300 CNY
Beijing (city)City258,400 CNY239,300 CNY136,200-388,100 CNY
Xi anCity257,700 CNY277,400 CNY116,740-409,000 CNY
HenanRegion257,700 CNY263,100 CNY127,700-401,300 CNY
AnhuiRegion254,800 CNY272,800 CNY119,700-406,300 CNY
Shanghai (city)City254,700 CNY239,000 CNY136,200-386,400 CNY
HebeiRegion251,500 CNY265,000 CNY117,380-394,300 CNY
GuangxiRegion249,600 CNY233,900 CNY134,600-381,800 CNY
HarbinCity249,600 CNY239,000 CNY128,500-384,200 CNY
HunanRegion247,800 CNY243,000 CNY125,700-384,200 CNY
ChengduCity246,200 CNY263,200 CNY117,520-388,100 CNY
ShenzhenCity245,300 CNY225,300 CNY130,400-369,900 CNY
ShantouCity239,300 CNY232,900 CNY127,700-369,900 CNY
YunnanRegion239,300 CNY246,200 CNY117,520-377,200 CNY
ChangchunCity237,400 CNY222,300 CNY124,400-359,900 CNY
ShanxiRegion233,900 CNY218,900 CNY124,400-357,700 CNY
JiangxiRegion233,900 CNY222,300 CNY124,400-357,700 CNY
NanjingCity233,900 CNY245,300 CNY112,760-369,900 CNY
HeilongjiangRegion233,900 CNY243,000 CNY113,280-367,200 CNY
LiaoningRegion233,600 CNY253,400 CNY107,320-371,100 CNY
ShenyangCity232,900 CNY251,500 CNY106,760-367,200 CNY
QingdaoCity231,000 CNY251,500 CNY106,500-367,900 CNY
SuzhouCity228,500 CNY228,500 CNY114,820-351,900 CNY
JilinRegion228,500 CNY208,600 CNY123,400-341,400 CNY
ShaanxiRegion227,600 CNY227,600 CNY114,900-351,200 CNY
FujianRegion227,600 CNY227,600 CNY113,420-353,600 CNY
Chongqing (region)Region225,300 CNY231,000 CNY109,720-351,900 CNY
DalianCity222,300 CNY239,000 CNY101,860-353,600 CNY
Nei MonggolRegion222,300 CNY233,900 CNY104,900-352,000 CNY
WenzhouCity218,900 CNY225,300 CNY108,320-345,100 CNY
GansuRegion218,900 CNY216,800 CNY113,220-340,400 CNY
FoshanCity218,900 CNY207,700 CNY115,600-335,800 CNY
GuizhouRegion216,800 CNY200,000 CNY119,500-327,300 CNY
ChangshaCity212,500 CNY212,500 CNY107,820-330,900 CNY
FuzhouCity212,500 CNY217,900 CNY104,440-332,100 CNY
Tianjin (region)Region212,500 CNY232,900 CNY97,300-340,400 CNY
DongguanCity210,500 CNY204,700 CNY109,460-325,800 CNY
KunmingCity210,500 CNY205,700 CNY111,900-325,600 CNY
Shanghai (region)Region209,700 CNY201,100 CNY108,300-320,500 CNY
QuanzhouCity209,700 CNY228,500 CNY95,720-332,100 CNY
Xinjiang UygurRegion208,600 CNY218,900 CNY98,820-327,300 CNY
ZhengzhouCity208,600 CNY195,200 CNY111,860-318,800 CNY
XiamenCity207,800 CNY212,500 CNY97,260-322,600 CNY
HainanRegion207,700 CNY225,700 CNY94,940-330,700 CNY
Xizang [Tibet]Region204,000 CNY210,500 CNY99,080-320,500 CNY
QinghaiRegion204,000 CNY209,700 CNY100,280-319,600 CNY
WuxiCity201,100 CNY194,600 CNY105,620-308,300 CNY
Beijing (region)Region200,000 CNY208,600 CNY97,060-313,700 CNY
NingxiaRegion197,600 CNY204,000 CNY93,600-308,300 CNY

Automotive Project Engineer in China: FAQs

  • How much does an automotive project engineer make per month in China?

    An automotive project engineer in China earns about 19,491 CNY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 233,900 CNY.

  • What's the salary range for an automotive project engineer in China?

    Entry-level automotive project engineers in China start near 125,700 CNY. Top-end pay reaches around 354,000 CNY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 154,700 and 263,100 CNY.

  • Is the median automotive project engineer salary in China higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 215,100 CNY, lower than the average of 233,900 CNY. Half of automotive project engineers in China earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for automotive project engineers in China?

    Men working as an automotive project engineer in China earn around 5% more than women on average (240,500 vs 228,500 CNY a year).

  • Do automotive project engineers in China get bonuses?

    About 52% of automotive project engineers in China reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5% of base salary.

  • Do automotive project engineers earn more in the public or private sector in China?

    In China, the public sector pays an automotive project engineer about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do automotive project engineers in China get a pay raise?

    An automotive project engineer in China sees a raise of around 11% every 16 months, equivalent to roughly 8% a year.