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Average Automotive Project Manager Salary in China for 2026

An automotive project manager in China earns about 444,300 CNY a year. That's 26% above 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 239,000 CNY a year, while the very top stretches to 671,000 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 manager make in China?

Average salary
444,300 CNY
37,025 CNY per month
Lowest reported
239,000 CNY
19,916 CNY per month
Highest reported
671,000 CNY
55,916 CNY per month

A typical automotive project manager working in China brings home around 37,025 CNY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 239,000 CNY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 671,000 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 manager 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 manager 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 managers in China earn less than 409,000 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 294,700 CNY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 498,500 CNY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of automotive project managers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 239,000 CNY. The highest stretch to 671,000 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.

239,000
Low
409,000
Median
671,000
High
294,700
25th
498,500
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in CNY

Automotive project manager pay by experience in China

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an automotive project manager 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 manager salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    279,400 CNY
  • 2-5 Years
    +26% from previous
    351,200 CNY
  • 5-10 Years
    +33% from previous
    466,300 CNY
  • 10-15 Years
    +18% from previous
    548,800 CNY
  • 15-20 Years
    +10% from previous
    605,700 CNY
  • 20+ Years
    +6% from previous
    642,800 CNY

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a automotive project manager 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 manager pay by education in China

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving automotive project manager 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 manager salary in China broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    362,200 CNY
  • Master's Degree
    +52% from previous
    551,200 CNY

Automotive project manager 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 managers in China earn an average of 459,700 CNY a year, while female automotive project managers earn around 426,700 CNY. That works out to a 8% 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 Manager gender pay gap

7%

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

Men 459,700 CNY
Women 426,700 CNY

Pay raises for an automotive project manager 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 12% every 17 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 manager 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.

53%

53% of automotive project managers in China reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an automotive project manager 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 47% of automotive project managers 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 manager: 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 manager salary by city and region in China

Automotive project manager 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.

  • Guangdong
  • Shandong
  • Guangzhou
  • Shanghai (city)
  • Henan
  • Sichuan
  • Chongqing (city)
  • Beijing (city)
  • Jiangsu
  • Hebei
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
GuangdongRegion510,200 CNY491,000 CNY266,000-781,200 CNY
ShandongRegion507,300 CNY498,500 CNY259,100-780,600 CNY
GuangzhouCity507,300 CNY466,900 CNY275,200-767,000 CNY
Shanghai (city)City501,400 CNY472,000 CNY266,000-765,100 CNY
HenanRegion501,400 CNY513,300 CNY246,200-783,800 CNY
SichuanRegion499,300 CNY459,700 CNY268,900-751,700 CNY
Chongqing (city)City499,300 CNY535,900 CNY228,000-790,600 CNY
Beijing (city)City492,700 CNY466,300 CNY263,200-751,100 CNY
JiangsuRegion492,700 CNY472,100 CNY258,400-757,300 CNY
HebeiRegion489,500 CNY519,300 CNY231,000-774,200 CNY
HangzhouCity489,500 CNY480,600 CNY251,500-752,600 CNY
WuhanCity485,300 CNY454,900 CNY258,400-735,200 CNY
HunanRegion485,300 CNY475,700 CNY246,500-745,000 CNY
AnhuiRegion480,600 CNY510,000 CNY225,300-758,700 CNY
ChengduCity480,600 CNY510,000 CNY225,300-758,700 CNY
Tianjin (city)City478,100 CNY485,200 CNY232,400-743,100 CNY
HubeiRegion478,100 CNY478,100 CNY239,000-737,000 CNY
ZhejiangRegion472,100 CNY472,100 CNY237,400-732,400 CNY
JinanCity472,100 CNY453,200 CNY245,300-721,600 CNY
Xi anCity466,900 CNY504,400 CNY214,000-743,100 CNY
GuangxiRegion466,900 CNY437,900 CNY246,500-710,500 CNY
YunnanRegion464,400 CNY472,100 CNY228,500-722,100 CNY
HarbinCity464,400 CNY445,100 CNY239,300-707,700 CNY
NanjingCity459,700 CNY478,100 CNY221,500-721,600 CNY
JiangxiRegion459,700 CNY430,000 CNY240,500-694,700 CNY
LiaoningRegion454,300 CNY489,500 CNY208,600-721,600 CNY
ShenyangCity454,300 CNY489,500 CNY208,600-721,600 CNY
ShenzhenCity447,700 CNY413,900 CNY240,500-679,200 CNY
FujianRegion447,700 CNY447,700 CNY225,700-694,700 CNY
ShantouCity444,300 CNY428,400 CNY232,900-681,900 CNY
SuzhouCity442,200 CNY442,200 CNY218,900-683,400 CNY
ShaanxiRegion442,200 CNY442,200 CNY218,900-683,400 CNY
HeilongjiangRegion433,800 CNY454,300 CNY208,600-684,900 CNY
QingdaoCity433,800 CNY471,700 CNY200,000-695,200 CNY
WenzhouCity430,500 CNY442,200 CNY209,500-674,100 CNY
ShanxiRegion430,500 CNY404,600 CNY228,000-658,300 CNY
GuizhouRegion428,400 CNY392,300 CNY231,000-643,800 CNY
ChangchunCity428,400 CNY401,300 CNY228,500-650,800 CNY
ChangshaCity420,800 CNY420,800 CNY209,500-656,800 CNY
Chongqing (region)Region420,800 CNY430,000 CNY207,700-658,300 CNY
JilinRegion417,100 CNY384,500 CNY225,300-633,100 CNY
DalianCity417,100 CNY450,300 CNY192,600-664,500 CNY
DongguanCity413,900 CNY396,300 CNY214,000-632,400 CNY
GansuRegion413,900 CNY404,600 CNY209,500-638,700 CNY
Nei MonggolRegion409,000 CNY433,400 CNY192,600-648,200 CNY
FoshanCity409,000 CNY384,500 CNY216,800-619,800 CNY
FuzhouCity406,300 CNY414,000 CNY197,600-633,100 CNY
Shanghai (region)Region406,300 CNY389,200 CNY209,700-619,000 CNY
Xinjiang UygurRegion399,900 CNY424,900 CNY189,300-631,200 CNY
KunmingCity399,900 CNY382,600 CNY208,600-615,000 CNY
QuanzhouCity394,500 CNY428,400 CNY183,600-629,800 CNY
Beijing (region)Region394,500 CNY412,000 CNY190,500-619,800 CNY
Tianjin (region)Region390,000 CNY420,800 CNY180,500-623,200 CNY
WuxiCity390,000 CNY376,800 CNY205,700-597,800 CNY
XiamenCity386,400 CNY401,300 CNY187,500-606,400 CNY
HainanRegion386,400 CNY419,400 CNY175,900-615,700 CNY
NingxiaRegion384,200 CNY398,300 CNY183,700-600,000 CNY
ZhengzhouCity384,200 CNY361,600 CNY204,700-581,000 CNY
QinghaiRegion378,300 CNY384,500 CNY185,100-590,200 CNY
Xizang [Tibet]Region372,600 CNY389,200 CNY180,500-588,500 CNY

Automotive Project Manager in China: FAQs

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

    An automotive project manager in China earns about 37,025 CNY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 444,300 CNY.

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

    Entry-level automotive project managers in China start near 239,000 CNY. Top-end pay reaches around 671,000 CNY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 294,700 and 498,500 CNY.

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

    The median is 409,000 CNY, lower than the average of 444,300 CNY. Half of automotive project managers in China earn below the median, half earn above it.

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

    Men working as an automotive project manager in China earn around 8% more than women on average (459,700 vs 426,700 CNY a year).

  • Do automotive project managers in China get bonuses?

    About 53% of automotive project managers in China reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 4% to 5% of base salary.

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

    In China, the public sector pays an automotive project manager 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 managers in China get a pay raise?

    An automotive project manager in China sees a raise of around 12% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 8% a year.