-- Sales Top 1 Million Units for Second Consecutive Year
-- Market Share Surpasses 6% for First Time
SHANGHAI, China, Jan. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- General Motors Corp. announced today that its sales and market share in Asia Pacific both reached new highs in 2006.
GM sold 1,254,615 vehicles in Asia Pacific, which was an increase of 17.9 percent over 2005. It marked the second consecutive year that regional sales topped 1 million units. This took GM’s market share in Asia Pacific to an estimated 6.4 percent, from 5.8 percent at the end of the previous year.
"Our operations in China and Korea continued to drive GM’s vehicle sales in the world’s fastest-growing region," said Nick Reilly, GM Group Vice President and President of GM Asia Pacific. "We benefited from a positive reception for many of our new offerings, including the VE Commodore in Australia, the Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Lova in China, the GM Daewoo Winstorm and Tosca in Korea, and the Chevrolet Aveo in India and Thailand."
Rising Sales
In China, GM and its Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling joint ventures sold 876,747 vehicles, which represented an increase of 31.8 percent over 2005. Shanghai GM sales rose 27.0 percent on a year-on-year basis to 413,367 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling, GM’s mini-vehicle joint venture, registered sales growth of 36.5 percent to 460,155 vehicles. China remained GM’s second-largest global market in 2006, following the United States.
GM Daewoo sales likewise remained strong in 2006. Its sales in Korea rose 19.2 percent on an annual basis to 128,332 units. The Tosca sedan and Winstorm SUV accounted for more than 36 percent of domestic sales. Exports of complete vehicles and knockdown (KD) kits from Korea jumped 33.1 percent to 1,397,487 units. This was a GM record.
Despite a drop in sales to 146,502 units in 2006, GM Holden remained Australia’s number two seller of vehicles. GM Holden received a boost from the launch of the award-winning VE Commodore, Australia’s single largest vehicle program.
Thailand continued to lead the way for GM’s growth in ASEAN. Sales of GM’s lineup of Chevrolet products totaled 29,727 units. For ASEAN as a whole, GM sales topped 38,000 vehicles in a market that was down overall.
In India, GM rolled out an unprecedented three new Chevrolet vehicles (the Aveo, SRV and Aveo U-VA) in 2006. Consumers responded, with GM’s sales in India rising 15.4 percent year on year to 34,552 units.
New Investment in 2006
GM continued the expansion of its operations in Asia Pacific in 2006. In May, GM Daewoo began regular production at its diesel engine plant in Gunsan, Korea. The diesel engine that it produces is powering both the Winstorm and Tosca for sale in Korea and around the globe. GM Daewoo also began operation of a new KD packing business at Korea’s Incheon Port that can pack and export 570,000 knockdown kits annually for assembly at GM facilities worldwide.
In India, GM announced it would build a new vehicle manufacturing plant in the state of Maharashtra that will more than double GM’s local production capacity when it opens in 2008. The foundation stone was laid for the facility and construction officially began on November 21. To keep up with short-term demand, GM’s manufacturing facility in Gujarat, India, opened a new paint shop and increased its annual manufacturing capacity to 85,000 units.
The GM Thailand Manufacturing Center in Rayong also opened a new paint shop, while GM Holden completed an upgrade of the Holden Vehicle Operations (HVO) plant in Elizabeth, South Australia. In addition, GM signed an agreement to form a new joint venture with DRB-HICOM for the distribution of Chevrolet products in Malaysia.
New Products and Facilities in 2007
GM plans to continue to expand its vehicle lineup and facilities in Asia Pacific in 2007. Among the new and upgraded vehicles that are scheduled to reach consumers this year are a Chevrolet mini-car in India, the Cadillac SLS in China, and a diesel version of the GM Daewoo Lacetti and a new state-of-the-art six-speed automatic transmission in Korea.
GM Daewoo will complete its new automotive test track in Incheon, Korea, by mid-year. Related R&D facilities will follow over the next two to three years. In China, SAIC-GM-Wuling is on schedule to open a new engine plant in Liuzhou, Guangxi, in 2007.
"We are pleased with our growth over the past few years in Asia Pacific," said Reilly. "By expanding our manufacturing, engineering and design capability, we are better able to meet the vastly different needs of our customers across Asia Pacific. This is enabling us to increase our presence in this highly important region for General Motors."
General Motors began doing business in Asia Pacific in 1915 when it introduced Buick and Cadillac products to Japanese consumers. Today, GM has automotive facilities and sales operations in more than 15 countries. Its regional headquarters is in Shanghai, China.
GM’s broad product portfolio in Asia Pacific encompasses the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Saab and Wuling brands. GM’s business interests in Asia Pacific go beyond cars and trucks. They include GMAC, ACDelco and Allison Transmission.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 318,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM operates one of the world’s leading finance companies, GMAC Financial Services, which offers automotive, residential and commercial financing and insurance. More information on GM can be found at http://www.gm.com .
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