Gasgoo.com (Shanghai April 24) - Shanghai General Motors, one of China's largest joint ventures, has brought 32 models to display at the now underway 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, including the Cadillac Ciel Convertible concept, the new electric hybrid ELR, the 1.6 turbocharged Chevrolet Malibu, the Buick Regal GS and Excelle XT. At the event, Shanghai GM Vice President Cai Bin announced that the joint venture plans to sell 1.3 million vehicles this year and two million in 2015, the Guangzhou Daily reported today.
Mr. Cai expects overall growth in the passenger automobile market to remain steady this year, with market volume to be between 1.38 million and 1.45 million vehicles, increasing 7.7 percent from 2011.
Not long ago, Shanghai GM signed an agreement with the government of Wuhan, Hebei to build a new passenger automobile factory in the city. The site will be the JV's fourth in the country. Shanghai GM will invest a total of seven billion yuan ($1.11b) in the site, which will boast an annual production capability of 300,000 vehicles when it begins operation in 2014.
According to JV President Ye Yongming, in the past decade, the automobile industry in China has been primarily focused on the east coast of the country. Mr. Ye expects that in the next decade, development will shift to the northern and western regions of China, which is one of the reasons Shanghai GM has decided to build its newest site in Wuhan.
