General Motors routinely sell more cars in China than it does in the United States and October was no exception as GM and its joint ventures delivered 291,371 vehicles to customers in China last month, setting a new October record.
By comparison, GM sold 226,000 vehicles in the U.S. in October.
GM also got some new competition in China as the Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln division also has begun its push into the Chinese market. Lincoln opened its first three stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
A total of eight Lincoln stores will open in China by year’s end. By 2016, 60 Lincoln stores will be open in 50 cities across the country, selling the Lincoln MKZ midsize premium sedan and Lincoln MKC compact utility vehicle.
“The launch of The Lincoln Way and our first Lincoln stores in China marks an important milestone for Lincoln’s reinvention as a global luxury automotive brand,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of Lincoln.
“The Lincoln Way demonstrates how a storied brand with a nearly 100-year history is innovating for our Chinese customers while staying true to our roots of personal service.”
Despite strong sales in China, Ford is a late arriver in the country and Lincoln is opening for business in China as the country’s economy is slowing down a bit.
GM reported sales in China were up 3.2% on an annual basis, as domestic sales by GM’s Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling manufacturing joint ventures reached new records for the month, the automaker.
Shanghai GM’s domestic sales rose 5.6% to 140,357 units during October. SAIC-GM-Wuling sold 149,528 vehicles in China, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%. FAW-GM sold 1,486 vehicles.
Buick’s October sales in China increased 7.9% on an annual basis to 75,241 units. The original Excelle family sold 23,415 vehicles. It was followed by the Excelle XT and GT, whose demand rose a collective 3.1%.
Chevrolet sales in China came in at 60,000 units last month, an increase of 1.7% year on year.
(New vehicle buyers gobble up trucks, SUVs and luxury cars in October. For more, Click Here.)
Cadillac led all GM divisions in China as it reported a sales increase of 21.8% on an annual basis in October to 5,116 units.
(Click Here for details on the first-ever car made using a 3D printer.)
Wuling sales in China totaled 121,540 units in October, as sales of the Hong Guang family grew 9.7% to 60,497 units. Baojun sales during the month jumped to 27,988 units. Demand for the Baojun 730 MPV reached 25,506 units in its third month on the market.
(To see why NHTSA opened an investigation into 400,000 vehicles, Click Here.)
During the first 10 months of 2014 as a whole, sales by GM and its joint ventures in China increased 10.7% on an annual basis to a record 2,872,501 units
In addition, between January and October, Buick sales rose 10.4% year on year to 746,240 units, Chevrolet sales were up 6.3% to 565,316 units, Cadillac sales increased 57.9% to 57,541 units, Wuling sales grew 11% to 1,358,051 units and Baojun sales increased 41.9% to 109,557 units.
