Second-Highest January sales ever despite three fewer sales days
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.
