General Motors Company : GM Sales in China Drop 8 Percent in January
02/07/2012 | 10:18am
GM Sales in China Drop 8 Percent in January
Second-Highest January sales ever despite three fewer sales
days
2012-02-07
SHANGHAI- General Motors sales in China in the first month of
2012 were down 8 percent from a year ago. There were three
fewer selling days in January this year as a result of the
Lunar New Year holiday.
Nonetheless, GM recorded its second-best January ever in
China. The automaker and its joint ventures sold 246,654
vehicles nationwide.
Domestic demand for Shanghai GM's lineup of passenger cars
during the first month of the year totaled 124,073 units.
Sales in China of SAIC-GM-Wuling's mini-vehicles and
passenger cars totaled 119,948 units. FAW-GM, GM's light-duty
commercial vehicle joint venture, sold 2,433 vehicles in
China.
Buick sales in China were up slightly year on year to 71,056
units. Demand for the original Excelle passenger car lineup -
which set an annual sales record for all domestic passenger
vehicle models in 2011 and was the top-selling passenger
vehicle industry-wide in China in 2011 - was up 1.9 percent
on an annual basis, reaching 28,680 units. Its siblings, the
Excelle XT and GT, experienced demand growth of 21.1 percent
to 19,787 units.
Chevrolet sales in China totaled 54,399 units. The brand was
once again led by the Cruze sedan, which had sales of 22,711
units, and the New Sail small car family, which generated
sales of 18,069 vehicles.
Cadillac sales maintained their growth trend, rising 18.1
percent year on year to 2,987 units in January. Leading the
way was the SRX luxury utility vehicle with sales of 2,132
units.
Wuling sales of 106,573 units in China were led by the
Sunshine minivan, which ended 2011 as China's best-selling
vehicle for a ninth-consecutive year. A total of 47,137
Sunshines were sold nationwide in January. In its first
January on the market, the Baojun 630 - the initial model
from the Baojun brand - generated 9,006 sales.
General Motors has 11 joint ventures, two wholly owned
foreign enterprises and more than 35,000 employees in China.
GM and its joint ventures offer the broadest lineup of
vehicles and brands among automakers in China. Passenger cars
and commercial vehicles are sold under the Baojun, Buick,
Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jiefang, Opel and Wuling brands. In
2011, GM sold more than 2.5 million vehicles in China. It has
been the sales leader among global automakers in the market
for seven consecutive years. More information on General
Motors in China can be found at GM Media Online.
