Buick, a bigger brand in China than the U.S. had a strong month. The new Encore helped.
General Motors and its joint ventures sold more than 300,000 vehicles in China during January, a single month record for the world’s largest auto market. January sales totaled 310,765 units, an increase of 26% from the same month in 2012, and 15.9% above the previous all-time monthly high of 268,035 units in January 2011. Domestic sales by Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, and their Buick, Chevrolet and Wuling brands all set new single-month records in January as well.
GM has led sales in China for eight consecutive years, but during 2012 it just barely stayed as Number One at 2.84 million vehicles because the VW Group, China’s Number Two automaker, sold 2.81 million vehicles, a +24.5% increase compared to 2011. GM sold 194,699 vehicles in the United States in January, up 16% compared with a year ago, which was slightly ahead of an overall auto market that grew 14%.
Shanghai GM sold 154,220 vehicles in China, an increase of 24% year-on-year. SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 151,819 vehicles, as domestic demand for its products increased 26% on an annual basis. Demand in China for FAW-GM’s products increased 84.5% on an annual basis to 4,490 units.
Buick sales in China rose 21.7% from the first month of 2013 to 86,509 units compared to U.S. sales of 13,500. Its best seller in January was the original Excelle passenger car lineup, at 30,264 units +5.5% for the decades old design, which no North American would recognize as a Buick. There was also strong demand for the Excelle XT and GT, with sales growth of 19.7% to 23,694 units. The tiny buy ativan us Encore SUV had sales of 7,881 units during its first January in the marketplace.
GM’s only true global brand, Chevrolet, saw Chinese sales rise 21.6% year on year to 66,141 units in January. The brand’s most popular model, Cruze, increased sales 7.8% to 24,477 units. Sales of the Sail family increased 21% to 21,866 units.
Cadillac sales in China totaled 1,570 units in January. At the opposite end of the RMB scale, Baojun, GM’s entry-level passenger car brand in China, had sales of 7,018 units. Wuling sales totaled 144,801 units in January, which was up 35.9% from the same month last year. Its best-selling model was the Hong Guang, whose sales grew 158.9% to 47,765 units. The Sunshine also had robust sales of 45,733 units.
GM has 12 joint ventures, two wholly owned foreign enterprises and more than 55,000 employees in China. GM and its joint ventures offer the broadest lineup of vehicles and brands among automakers in China. Passenger cars and commercial vehicles are sold under the Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Jiefang, Opel and Wuling brands.
The Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Encore were among the new models that GM began offering in China last year. Shanghai OnStar also introduced a range of new services for Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac owners, helping the joint venture become the first telematics provider in China with more than 500,000 subscribers.
See also:
- Production Version of Sub-Compact Buick Encore SUV at NAIAS
- Chinese GAC Group to Build Jeep Models in China
- Record 2012 Sales in China for GM, Volkswagen Group, Ford Motor
- Renault Nissan Sets Sales Record in 2012 Despite EU, Asian Drops
- Toyota Ousts GM from Global Auto Sales Leadership. VW Third
- GMAC-SAIC Finance More than One Million Car buyers in China
