General Motors Company announced today that the automaker and its joint ventures sold 181,148 vehicles in China in September. For the first nine months as a whole, General Motors’s sales in China totaled 1,292,549 units, which represented an increase of 55.6% from the first nine months of the last year. This is a new record for the period.
Domestic sales of GM’s manufacturing joint ventures have been strong throughout the year. Its flagship joint venture, Shanghai General Motors, sold 71,566 vehicles in September, which was an all-time monthly sales record. For the year, Shanghai GM has sold 480,202 vehicles, an increase of 40.4% from the first nine months last year.
“Sales continue to surpass forecasts as nearly all market segments experience growth,” according to General Motors China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale. “Great products always drive great sales results,” said Wale. “At GM, we are delighted with the success of our new range of world-class models. In the compact sector, the new Chevrolet Cruze has sold more than 48,000 units in just six months. The Buick New Regal has sold 63,954 units since its launch last December. The new Buick LaCROSSE set a new standard for the upper-medium sector, with sales of more than 19,400 units in its first three months on the market”.
General Motors makes the vans – 1 million were sold last year – as part of a venture with automakers in southwest China. Thanks to such successes, General Motors still plans to adhere to its target of doubling its sales in China to more than 2 million units within the next five years, despite the company’s bankruptcy filing, says Karin Zhang, a General Motors spokeswoman in Shanghai. “China has a critical, very strategic role for General Motors. It’s growing very fast, and we are very well-placed in China,” she says.
General Motors and other global automakers are looking to China’s fast-growing market to drive sales amid slack demand elsewhere. China’s monthly sales have surpassed those of United States for all but two months this year.