SAIC Q3 Results - hit by EU Push!

UPDATE 1-China's biggest automaker SAIC posts 23 pct rise in Q3 profit

SAIC Q3 net profit up 23 pct yr-yr to 6.5 bln yuan, above forecasts

* Sales for first 9 months up 15 pct; GM, VW joint ventures drive growth

* SAIC's 9-month net profit up to 18 bln vs 16.1 bln yuan year-ago

* Company spending heavily on marketing own brands (Adds details on sales, marketing and industry context)


SHANGHAI, Oct 30 (Reuters) - China's biggest automaker SAIC Motor Corp slightly beat expectations with a 23 percent rise in third-quarter profit, helped by robust sales at its joint ventures with General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG.

Based on the company's first-half earnings, third-quarter profit came in at 6.5 billion yuan ($1.07 billion), above the 5.4 billion yuan figure forecast by three analysts polled by Reuters.

Much of SAIC's growth has been powered by strong performance at its joint ventures, which account for over 90 percent of its sales by unit in China, the world's biggest automobile market.

Its two ventures with GM accounted for 61 percent of total sales by units during the first nine months of this year while its Volkswagen venture made up 31 percent, the company said.

SAIC made a net profit of 18 billion yuan ($2.96 billion)during the January-September period, compared with 16.1 billion yuan during the same period last year, the Shanghai-based carmaker said in an exchange filing.

SAIC sold 3.8 million vehicles during the first nine months of the year, up 15 percent from the same period last year, outpacing the industry growth rate of 12.7 percent.

Despite its rapid sales growth, SAIC's bottom line has been weighed down by a big push to promote sales of its own brands, which include MG and ROEWE.

SAIC has boosted spending on marketing, services and research, the company said in a statement emailed to Reuters. It did not elaborate on the financial details.

Earlier this year, SAIC rolled out a new model of its ROEWE brand of sedans, and in June started marketing its redesigned MG3 cars in Europe. SAIC has also stepped up the promotion of its Maxus-branded vans.

SAIC has also announced plans to start making cars in Thailand with local firm CP Group Co Ltd, and is discussing with GM a potential collaboration in Indonesia.