GM sales in China increase 49.6% in first eight months

GM and its joint ventures benefited from record August domestic sales, which increased 112.7 percent year on year to 152,365 units.

This continued a series of single-month sales records for the automaker that began in January 2009.

"We are now looking at a market of 11.5 to 12 million vehicles, up from 9.1 million units last year," according to GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale. "We expect GM sales for the year as a whole to rise by more than 40 percent from 2008.

"Industry sales have kept up their brisk pace," said Wale. "With more potential buyers taking advantage of the growing selection of affordable products, we expect sales to remain robust through the end of the year. The continued introduction of new products will help GM remain ahead of the market."

Driven by unprecedented demand for its Chevrolet and Buick models, Shanghai GM experienced domestic sales growth in August of 99.6 percent on an annual basis to 63,303 units - an all-time monthly sales record.

Buick sales were up 102.8 percent year over year to 38,905 units, while sales of Chevrolet products hit an all-time monthly high of 23,771 units on annual growth of 99.4 percent.

"All of our new products registered remarkable sales performance," said Joseph Liu, Executive Vice President of Shanghai GM. Sales of the new Buick LaCROSSE totaled 7,887 units in its second month on the market, while sales of the Chevrolet Cruze reached 9,812 units in its fifth month on the market and sales of the Buick New Regal exceeded 7,000 units for the third consecutive month.

SAIC-GM-Wuling more than doubled its domestic sales, with growth of 122.6 percent from last August to 88,711 units. Its Wuling Sunshine minivan remained the overall market leader, as monthly sales reached 49,298 units. Sales of its high-end minivan, the Wuling Rong Guang, once again topped 20,000 units.

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Credits: JRC