Shanghai, February 20 (Gasgoo.com) Kelvin Wale, president of General Motors China operations, has said the company expects to sell more than two million vehicles in China in 2010, up at least 13% from last year's sales, media reported.
Mr. Wale hopes that GM's sales in China would grow faster than the overall Chinese market. Analysts have projected a year-on-year increase of at least 10% for the Chinese auto market to achieve sales of more than 15 million vehicles for this year.
In 2009, GM China sales surged 67% to 1.83 million units, driven by the Chinese government's stimulus measures such as trade-in subsidies and sales tax cuts. But a rollback of government incentives may affect auto sales in 2010.
GM plans to introduce more than 10 new models in China this year, Wale said. The company, China's largest overseas carmaker, has boosted investment in China, a nation that surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest auto market last year.
Last month, GM and its joint ventures sold 219,192 vehicles in China, up 97% from a year earlier, with flagship car venture Shanghai GM doubling to 90,202 units, while mini-van venture SAIC-GM-Wuling selling 119,969 units, up 59.6%.
General Motors expects it will need to build a new greenfield manufacturing facility in the near future in China to accommodate strong growth, but it will not be building a plant this year, Reuters reported.
