General Motors Sells Record 3 Million Vehicles in China

AutoInformed.com

The Cadillac XTS starts at more than $56,000 in China where it is locally produced.

General Motors and its joint ventures sold their 3 millionth vehicle in China last week. This is the first time in GM’s history that it reached that tally in a calendar year. China is by far GM’s largest single market and has been. In the U.S., total GM sales were  2.55 million through the end of November.

However, the Detroit based automaker is facing a serious challenge to its long held sales leadership in the communist country from Volkswagen Group this year. GM was apparently caught napping and did not anticipate shifts in the market to small trucks and SUVs. Both companies are on track to deliver 3 million or more vehicles during 2013, a record for both. 

GM and its joint ventures offer more than 40 different models under seven brands in China. Its products range from mini-cars to luxury sedans and from mini-commercial vehicles to light-duty trucks. Most of its vehicles sold in China are manufactured in China (unlike the U.S.  China protects its market with high import taxes), and some are engineered and designed locally.

GM also offers services familiar to Westerners tailored for the Chinese market. Its Shanghai OnStar joint venture is the leading provider of safety, maintenance and telematics in China, while its GMAC-SAIC joint venture is the automotive financing leader.

GM’s joint ventures are investing about $11 billion in vehicles, facilities and people through 2016.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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