BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chongqing Chang'an Automobile Co. Ltd., a leading Chinese automobile manufacturer and listed arm of Chang'an Automobile Group, Monday expected to report a loss of 1.7 billion yuan to 2.5 billion yuan (253.5 million to 372.8 million U.S. dollars) for the first quarter of 2019.

In a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Chang'an said it reversed to the loss from a net profit of 1.39 billion yuan in the first three months in 2018 and attributed the loss to poor sales.

Shares of Chang'an closed 5.47 percent lower at 9.5 yuan Monday in Shenzhen as the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.78 percent to close around 10,053.76.