GM's share of China market grows
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-05 14:34

Sales were driven largely by the continuing popularity of the company's Buick brand, led by the Excelle sedan and hatchback. The company sold 105,000 of those two models between January and September, according to the China Auto Industry Association, although GM gave no figures for the entire year.

GM, which is looking to growth in China to make up for its shrinking market share in the U.S., said sales of the GL8 luxury passenger van also recorded steady growth, while newly introduced Chevrolet and Cadillac models also did well.

Nearly all of GM cars sold in China are made domestically.

Minivans and small trucks sold under the Wuling brand — made at the GM's joint venture in southwestern China, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. — benefited from strong sales in rural China and cities in the relatively poorer interior, it said. That joint venture sold 337,188 units, up 43.4 percent from 2004.

GM's flagship joint venture in Shanghai, Shanghai General Motors Corp., sold 325,429 vehicles, up 28.7 percent from the previous year, the company said in a news release.

General Motors has opened a second plant in Shanghai last year and added three new Chevrolet models in 2005, the Sail compact car, Epica intermediate sedan and Aveo hatchback. That pushed China sales for the brand past the 100,000 mark for the first time, establishing China as Chevrolet's fourth-largest global market.

The sales growth gives the world's largest automaker about 11.2 percent of the Chinese market, up from 9.4 percent in 2003.

"GM benefited from an unprecedented number of new and upgraded product introductions as well as a growing portfolio of brands," Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, was quoted as saying in the release.

New models under the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands will be introduced this year to keep up with what Wale predicted would be 10 and 15 percent growth in the Chinese vehicle market.

"We have no intention of letting up on the accelerator," Wale said.

GM gave no figures for profits in its China operations.

But in July-September quarter, GM earned $176 million in Asia while losing US$1.6 billion in North America. In 2004, GM sold 4.7 million cars and trucks in the U.S. and 4.3 million elsewhere.

GM's sales figures also suggest an overall market recovery in China, where sales have started to pick up after slumping in the second quarter.

But with strong sales growth coming from small, cheaper cars, profits at major automakers are expected to shrink. Heightened competition is also forcing prices down, and GM this week announced a nearly 11 percent price cut on its Buick Regal and Espica models.