GM China sales growth slows to 6.1% in 2008

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N) said on Tuesday its China vehicle sales rose 6.1 percent in 2008, down sharply from 18.5 percent growth the previous year as a downturn in the economy hit automobile demand.

GM and its joint ventures sold 1.09 million vehicles in the country last year, it said in a statement.

After years of double-digit growth, China in 2008 posted three rare monthly declines in car sales as of the end of November as a slowing economy dented consumer spending.

Auto sales in Asia, which followed the U.S. market into a downturn in the second half of 2008, are showing signs of a deepening slowdown as well and adding to automakers' woes.

The U.S. government has agreed to provide the struggling automaker with up to $13.4 billion in emergency funding as it fights a cash crunch.

Sales at its flagship car venture with SAIC Motor Corp fell 7.03 percent to 445,709 units last year due to limited new models.

Sales at its commercial vehicle venture in south China rose 17.9 percent to 647,296 units, helped largely by the Wuling Sunshine minivan, popular in smaller cities and rural areas.

"A series of natural disasters and an increase in fuel prices earlier in the year exacerbated the impact of the global economic downturn in China," Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said in a statement.

Still, Wale said he expected China to remain as the world's fastest growing major market over the next decade and that vehicle sales in the country would remain steady in 2009.

GM's Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly told Reuters in December that he expected GM to "slightly outperform the market" in China next year.

In an effort to lure customers back to the showroom, the U.S. automaker said it would roll out at least five new models under the Buick and Chevrolet brands over the next two to three years.