China's largest SUV and pickup maker Great Wall Motors saw its operating revenue in the third quarter reach 26.21 billion yuan ($3.9 billion), surging 23.6 percent year-on-year.

In the quarter, the automaker's net profit attributable to shareholders edged up 2.9 percent year-on-year to 1.44 billion yuan, said the carmaker in its financial statement released on Friday.

It recorded a gross margin of 19 percent in the quarter, which was 0.5 percentage points higher from the same period last year, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the first three quarters of this year, Great Wall Motors' operating revenue totaled 62.14 billion yuan. It represents a slight decrease of 0.69 percent from 2019.

The company sold 680,690 vehicles in the first nine months of this year, falling 6 percent from a year earlier, primarily because of the pandemic.

The carmaker witnessed double-digit sales growth throughout the third quarter, thanks to an overall recovery of the Chinese auto market and its new products.

Great Wall Motors is stepping up its investment in research and development as part of its efforts to become a global mobility company.

The company said it spent 1.9 billion yuan in this aspect in the first nine months of this year, soaring 28.5 percent year-on-year.