CEOs: Big-3's China operations unaffected by U.S. crisis

Shanghai, December 8 (Gasgoo.com) CEOs of General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler's China divisions said their respective operations in the world's second largest market are gaining profitability on the back of a steady sales growth, and these businesses are unlikely to be affected by their home market crisis, the Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China said GM's operations in China will not be affected substantially by its U.S parent's current situation.

"China is one of the most important for GM globally and is very profitable with sufficient funds," he said. "We will continue to work with our Chinese partner to maintain growth momentum."

GM announced on Nov. 4 that its auto sales in China are up 8% so far this year, compared with the same period last year.

The U.S. auto maker sold about 1 million units in the whole of last year, but has already sold 1 million units so far this year, said Wale.

Xu Guozhen, former vice president of Ford Motor (China) Ltd., told reporters Ford's operation and venture are going on excellently as usual in China and Ford is planning to introduce the EcoBoost technology and EcoBoost four-cylinder engines into China.

Ford's sales in China rose 7.1% from a year earlier to 240,879 vehicles in the first nine months of the year. That's slower than the 30 percent pace of one year ago.

Chrysler LLC will introduce more models to the Chinese market and is also accelerating its pace in seeking local partners. The U.S. auto giant believes the global crisis has a very limited impact on its operations in China because of stable government fiscal policies and a strong consumer's demand, said the CEO and president of Chrysler Group China Sales.

He said Chrusler sold 20,655 vehicles in the first ten months of this year, which represents a remarkable growth of 217% from a year earlier.