-- Major Brands, Joint Ventures Reach New Highs
-- Market Share Climbs to Estimated 11.8%
SHANGHAI, China, Jan. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- General Motors Corp. announced today that it set new marks for sales and market share in mainland China in 2006.
Buoyed by record demand for all six brands offered by GM and its joint ventures, the automaker and its domestic operations sold 876,747 vehicles in mainland China, which was about 208,000 units more than in 2005. This represented growth of 31.8 percent from 2005 and was ahead of estimated industry growth of around 24 percent. It took GM’s market share in mainland China to an estimated 11.8 percent.
SAIC-GM-Wuling led the way, with sales of its family of mini-vehicles rising 36.5 percent on an annual basis to 460,155 vehicles. Sales of products from Shanghai GM rose 26.8 percent on a year-on-year basis to 412,791 units.
"Vehicle sales continued to outpace most projections as a result of unprecedented consumer demand for passenger cars," said GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale. "While demand was particularly strong in the small car segment, nearly all passenger car segments experienced growth.
"GM took advantage by introducing a series of new products under all six of our brands sold locally, in the process expanding what was already the broadest vehicle lineup in the marketplace," Wale added.
Since 2002, when SAIC-GM-Wuling was formed, sales of GM and its joint ventures have grown an average of 34.9 percent annually and GM’s market share has risen by 4.3 percentage points. GM’s local product lineup has grown as well, to about 30 different models.
In 2006, sales of GM’s flagship brand in China, Buick, increased 24.9 percent on an annual basis to 304,230 units. Buick benefited from new vehicles such as the LaCrosse premium sedan which registered sales of 52,021 units in its first year on the market. In addition, established products such as the Excelle, Buick’s best-selling model, and the GL8, China’s first family of executive wagons, enjoyed continued strong sales.
GM’s most popular global brand and its most affordable passenger car brand in China also performed well. Chevrolet sales topped 100,000 units for a second consecutive year, rising 36.8 percent on an annual basis to 145,392 vehicles. The brand’s best-selling model in China in 2006 was the Spark mini-car built and marketed by SAIC-GM-Wuling, which sold 40,015 units. It was followed by the Lova small car from Shanghai GM, which sold 36,893 units in just its first year on the market.
Cadillac, GM’s luxury nameplate, experienced growing demand for its four products, the CTS premium sedan, SRX medium luxury utility vehicle, XLR luxury roadster and new Escalade luxury SUV. Cadillac began taking orders for the new SLS luxury sedan, which was designed especially for China and will go into production at Shanghai GM in the first quarter of 2007.
The Wuling brand of mini-commercial vehicles and minivans enjoyed sales growth of 35.4 percent in 2006 to 420,140 vehicles. The brand benefited from the ongoing popularity of the Sunshine minivan, which accounted for 69.6 percent of total sales, and the unveiling of two new products: the PSN crew cab pickup and Hong Tu minivan.
"In response to what we expect to be continued double-digit market growth, GM and our joint ventures will invest an average of US$1 billion per year in our domestic operations through 2010," according to Wale.
"In 2007, we plan to roll out about 10 new and upgraded products," he added. "Like the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SLS and Chevrolet Lova, many of our new offerings are being engineered for the local market by the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC). Our aim is to stay ahead in this critical market for General Motors by offering local consumers the products and services that they want when they want them."
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 .
