GM to achieve China sales of 1 mln cars in '09

Shanghai, December 24 (Gasgoo.com) GM Asia Pacific president Nick Reilly said yesterday that he foresees GM sales in China will plateau or increase slightly, and the U.S. automaker will see its sales in China exceed 1 million units despite the global financial crisis.

China is GM's second-largest market outside the United States. GM and its joint ventures in China sold 1.03 million vehicles in 2007, up 18.5% year on year. GM's sales in China reached 590,126 units in the first half of this year, 12.7% higher than the same period of 2007.

"I would expect us to do a little better than the market. As I said, I think the market will be flat to slightly up next year," Reilly said, adding that GM's sales in China are expected to be "significantly" over 1 million units in 2009.

Reilly said he saw no need to lay off staff in China but GM would not be adding new capacity in the country in the next couple of years. Currently, GM's annual production capacity in China is more than 1 million units. GM sedan and mini-car models for the China market are mostly made in GM's Chinese ventures Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling.

Earlier this month, GM and China's largest carmaker SAIC opened a new car plant in Shenyang, the capital city of northeast China's Liaoning province, to meet rising demand from the Chinese auto market. The $390 billion joint venture is the second facility that the two companies have opened in the city.

The Chinese auto market has great potential and in recent years has registered the fastest growth worldwide, and it is this that the crisis-plagued U.S. automakers are banking on to create a brighter future.