The pace of economic growth in China has slipped below 7%, but General Motors has managed to eke out monthly sales increases despite selling environment marked by prices cuts, rising inventories and intense competition from indigenous Chinese brands.
Despite concerns over the Chinese economy, GM and its joint ventures, with the help of an aggressive schedule of new product launches that started last summer, had their best November sales ever, the automaker said.
Sales by GM and its partners advanced 14% on an annual basis to 346,671 vehicles. During the first 11 months of 2015, retail sales by GM and its joint ventures in China have increased 4.1% on an annual basis to a record 3,166,791 units.
“The market has been improving in the past two months,” said GM Executive Vice President and GM China President Matt Tsien. “We are well positioned to achieve a strong finish to the year backed by newly launched models, including the Chevrolet LOVA RV, Buick Verano hatchback and Buick Verano GS.”
(Buick moving ahead with plans to bring Chinese car to U.S. For more, Click Here.)
The Buick, Cadillac and the China-only Baojun brands set all-time monthly sales records, GM reported.
In November, GM’s sales of utility vehicles surged 231% on an annual basis, led by the Buick Envision and Baojun 560. The fast-growing SUV segment accounted for 19% of GM’s sales in China last month, compared with 6.5% a year earlier.
Buick sales rose 45% year on year to 107,925 units. Sales of the Excelle GT more than doubled last month from a year earlier. Verano sales surpassed 9,000 units, increasing 60% from the previous month.
The Verano Hatchback and Verano GS launched in November are strengthening the brand’s presence in China’s premium mid-range passenger car segment, together with the Verano sport sedan and the all-new Excelle GT launched earlier this year.
(Click Here for details about U.S. auto sales going gangbusters in November.)
Cadillac luxury car sales increased 57% from a year earlier to 7,935 units, making November the seventh consecutive month of double-digit sales growth. Sales of the ATS-L jumped 182% in November. The new 28T Fashion Edition with an eight-speed transmission was added to the ATS-L lineup on Nov. 26.
Baojun sales last month jumped 110% on an annual basis to 58,051 units. Next year, additional new and upgraded Baojun products featuring 1.5-liter turbocharged engines and automatic transmissions will be introduced.
Chevrolet sales declined 11% year-over-year to 51,192 units in November, mainly due to the ongoing model changeover. At last month’s Guangzhou auto show, the all-new LOVA RV urban recreational vehicle was launched and the Chevrolet Malibu XL sedan made its domestic debut.
(China’s car sales surge in October, reversing a sharp slump. Click Here for the latest.)
Wuling sales dropped 10% from a year earlier to 121,451 units in November. It was impacted by continued contraction of the mini-commercial vehicle market.
