Gasgoo.com (Shanghai July 7) - SAIC Motor manufactured 298,600 vehicles and sold 317,770 last month, caijing.com.cn reported today. The figures represent minor growth for the manufacturer. SAIC has managed to sell over 2 million vehicles since the start of the year, 13 percent higher than the amount sold in the first half of 2010.
SAIC primarily owes its astounding monthly performance, well above the national average, to its two key joint ventures, Shanghai General Motors and Shanghai Volkswagen. June Sales for the two JVs totalled 612,000 and 577,000 vehicles, respectively. Although they both managed to retain strong results, Shanghai GM and Shanghai VW, as well as SAIC-GM-Wuling, have all felt the pressure from rising fuel prices and increasingly stringent government policies. According to reports, the JVs will have to wait until next year until they are able to undertake expansion programs.
Xu Yingbo, a market analyst from cs.ecitic.com, believes that Shanghai VW and Shanghai GM's total sales this year may exceed 12 million. Both JVs are planning to release new models in the latter half of 2011.
Meanwhile, production and sales figures from SAIC's bus manufacturer Shanghai Sunwin Bus showed negative growth, decreasing 20.28 and 20 percent respectively.
