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GM China sales growth slows to 6% in '08

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-06 15:43

General Motors Corp. said Tuesday its 2008 sales in China rose 6 percent to 1.09 million vehicles, but the growth rate slowed as consumers held back amid the economic downturn.

File photo shows a Buick at an auto show in Beijing. US auto giant General Motors said Monday its sales growth in China slowed to 6.1 percent in 2008, less than a third of the rate seen the previous year as the economic slowdown affected demand. [Agencies]

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GM is looking to China's booming auto market to drive global sales growth as North American demand slumps. In 2007, the Detroit-based automaker's sales rose 19 percent, including joint ventures.

"A series of natural disasters and an increase in fuel prices earlier in the year exacerbated the impact of the global economic downturn in China," Kevin Wale, president of GM China, said in a statement.

China's auto sales have weakened sharply as economic growth slowed in recent months. Sales of cars and light trucks in November plunged 13 percent from a year earlier, according to J.D. Power & Associates.

Sales for GM's Chevrolet brand rose 15.7 percent in 2008, the company said.

Sales of the Wuling brand, made by SAIC-GM-Wuling, a three-way partnership with Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. and Wuling Automobile Corp., rose 17.4 percent.

Another joint venture, Shanghai GM, which makes passenger cars, saw its sales fall due to limited new model introductions.