General Motors and Ford set new sales record in China during November as Chinese customers continue to show a preference for American brands.
Ford sales hit an all-time November high of 124,113 vehicles, up 17% compared with November 2015. In addition, its joint ventures in China have sold more than 1 million vehicles in 2016, reaching the milestone one month faster than in 2015
“Ford is gaining more momentum in China each month and we are on pace for a record year in China,” said Peter Fleet, vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service, Asia Pacific. “We are seeing increasing demand across our line-up, particularly our full family of SUVs.”
Monthly sales for Changan Ford Automobile, Ford’s passenger car joint venture in China, totaled more than 96,000 vehicles, up 14% compared the same period last year. So far in 2016 CAF has sold nearly 842,000 vehicles, up 14% compared with last year.
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November’s strong performance was led by SUVs, including the Ford Explorer, with an increase of 73%. Sales of the Ford Edge increased 21% in November and year-to-date sales more than doubled compared to last year.
In Ford’s small sedan line-up, sales of the new Ford Focus increased 28% in November and Ford Escort sales rose nearly 50%. The Mustang continues to be popular among sports car enthusiasts, with sales up 48% for the month and 40% for the year.
Jiangling Motor Corp., Ford’s commercial vehicle investment in China, also saw a strong November, selling more than 26,000 vehicles, a 29% increase over last November. Year-to-date sales reached more than 232,000, up 5% compared with the same time last year.
GM, which along with the Volkswagen Group is one of the market leaders in China, said and its joint ventures increased 7% from a year earlier. The Cadillac, Buick and Baojun brands reached all-time monthly highs.
With demand remaining particularly strong for small and midsize passenger cars, SUVs and luxury vehicles, GM’s retail sales in the first 11 months of 2016 grew 8.5% on an annual basis to 3,435,788 units – a new high for the period.
“With less than a month to go, we are on track for record sales in 2016,” said GM Executive Vice President and GM China President Matt Tsien. “All recently launched products, such as the new-generation Buick GL8 and Baojun 310, have gotten off to a very good start.”
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Cadillac sales grew more than 50% for the fifth consecutive month, surging 70% in November to 13,476 units. Sales of the XT5 exceeded 5,200 units while deliveries of the XTS soared 73% year over year, pushing Cadillac deliveries in China beyond 100,000 units for the first time in its history.
Buick deliveries in November rose 1.5% on an annual basis to 109,495 units. The Excelle GT, its most popular model, sold more than 36,000 units. Sales of the Envision advanced 29% from a year earlier to more than 24,000 units.
Deliveries of the Verano family neared 18,000 units. The new generation of the GL8 family, which includes the first Buick model from the Avenir sub-brand, was introduced last month to build on the success of its predecessors and set a new benchmark for large luxury MPVs.
Chevrolet deliveries rose 2.4% year over year to 52,400 units in November. In its second month on the market, the Cavalier generated demand of more than 12,000 units. The Malibu, Cruze and Sail families all topped sales of 10,000 units.
Baojun deliveries were 74,779 units last month, which was an increase of 28% year over year. Demand for the Baojun 730 MPV was up 30% on an annual basis. Baojun 310 hatchback deliveries exceeded 13,900 units in its second full month on the market.
(Click Here to read more about Ford and GM’s rising sales in China.)
Wuling sold 121,566 units in November, which represented a 0.2% decrease on an annual basis but modest growth from a month earlier.