GM's China sales rise 12% in Q3

General Motors, the largest carmaker in the United States, saw its Q3 sales in China grow 12 percent year-on-year, as the Chinese market continues to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

Statistics released on Monday showed that GM and its two Chinese joint ventures delivered more than 771,400 vehicles from July to September, up 12 percent year-over-year.

GM said in a statement that its luxury vehicles, midsize and large SUVs and MPVs posted a strong performance in particular, spearheading the overall recovery.

Buick deliveries in the third quarter grew 26 percent from a year earlier to over 250,000 vehicles. Sales of the GL8 family – a long-standing leader in China's MPV segment – increased 17 percent year-on-year to more than 52,000.

Chevrolet delivered more than 77,000 vehicles. It continued to enhance its product mix by introducing the refreshed Equinox SUV and adding a five-seat variant to the Blazer SUV.

GM's premium brand Cadillac delivered 65,000 vehicles, an increase of 28 percent from a year earlier. Its SUV portfolio encompassing the XT4, XT5 and XT6 posted steady growth, with collective sales of more than 40,000.

It sold over 100,000 Baojun-branded vehicles in the third quarter. The indigenous brand is a pioneer for GM in driving electric vehicle usage and acceptance among consumers. It now has four electric models – the E100, E200, E300 and E300 Plus – which had combined sales of over 10,000 units in the third quarter.

Another local brand, Wuling, saw its sales grow 26 percent year-over-year to more than 270,000 units. Its first all-electric model – the Hong Guang MINI EV – has become the best-selling new energy vehicle model in China. Deliveries in the third quarter topped 28,000 units.

GM now has more than 10 new energy vehicle models in China. Their sales more than doubled in the first nine months from a year earlier.

The carmaker said in the next five years, more than 40 percent of GM's new model launches in China will be new energy vehicles.