If ever you needed proof of how important the emerging Chinese automotive market has become for car manufacturers, look no further than General Motors.
The US car giant has actually seen its sales in China outstrip those on its home turf in the first half of this year – 1,080,521 units from January-June 2010 in the US, compared to 1,209,138 units in China.
During June, GM set a new mark for sales in the country, rising by 23.2 per cent on an annual basis to 176,486 units. Shanghai GM’s sales over the month rose by 18.9 per cent to 71,782 units thanks primarily to rising demand for its Chevrolet line-up and a jump in sale for Cadillac products.
Meanwhile, sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling’s family of mini vehicles went up by 19.7 per cent on an annual basis to 99,115 units while FAW-GM sales reached 5,220 units in the commercial vehicle joint venture’s first June reporting sales.
The strongest brand for GM in China is Chevrolet – its sales jumped by 43.3 per cent to 38,304 units thanks primarily to demand for the Cruze saloon car and record monthly demand for the New Sail small car. Cadillac also enjoyed a surge in popularity – it sales were up 171.3 per cent in June on an annual basis; while Buick sales reached 36,486 units thanks largely to the Excelle passenger car which sold 17,000 units alone. Meanwhile, sales of GM’s imported Opel line-up rose by 142.8 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year.
