If Chinese sales double – it’s not a bad bet - China would dominate GM’s volume in a way unheard of since GM had almost 60% share in the U.S. in 1960.
Shanghai GM builds, imports and sells Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet products in China, the worlds’ largest auto market. In 2010, Shanghai GM became China’s first automaker to sell 1 million vehicles in a single year.
Just before the opening of the Shanghai Motor Show in April, GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale predicted that GM will double its sales volume in China from about 2.35 million units in 2010 to roughly 5 million units by 2015.
The GM announcement – no surprise to industry observers who track sales and capacity numbers closely – came as Wale outlined a multi-brand strategy under a five-year plan that will see GM introducing more than 60 new models or what it calls major product upgrades. GM’s two mainstream Chinese brands, Buick and Chevrolet, will account for nearly half of this long marketing march.
If Chinese sales double – and it’s not a bad bet – China would dominate GM’s volume in a way unheard of since GM had almost 60% share in the U.S. market in 1960 in what was then the world’s largest and most prosperous market. How much of the profits are repatriated to the U.S. remains to be seen, but China clearly is for the foreseeable future the world’s largest auto market, which will require increasing investments.
Buick in China will introduce about 12 new and upgraded products as what GM claims is the leading premium vehicle brand in China. (Although Audi, BMW and Mercedes would argue this in terms of image, not volume.) In addition to rolling out a variety of new vehicles, Buick will also offer its customers the latest technologies, which means the increasing capabilities of GM’s OnStar telematics subsidiary will be available in China as dialects beyond Mandarin are added.
Chevrolet will offer 15 new models and upgrades, ranging from affordable small cars to mid-size sedans. Chevrolet will also bring to the market a new lineup of SUVs and unspecified performance vehicles, which means Corvette or Camaro will appear alongside smaller, more affordable pocket-rockets like the new Sonic.
Wale emphasized that GM will continue to “leverage” its unmatched local vehicle development capability, including its Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) another joint venture in China.
In the early years after China’s accession to the World Trade organization in 2001, Chinese auto industry jobs were mostly factory workers who were hired by the local Communist party – even in western JV plants. However, white collar engineering, design, manufacturing and administrative jobs – once the foundation of the U.S. middle class – are now becoming more important. (See also Ford to Double White Collar Workers in China by 2015, General Motors to Introduce 20 New Models in China, Add Jobs, General Motors Sets China Sales Record. U.S. also up in 2010)
