GM has sold 1 mln vehicles in China this year

Shanghai, August 13 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors announced in Shanghai yesterday that it has sold one million vehicles in China in 2009, and that in the coming two years the company will launch 10 models of its Buick and Chevrolet brands to the Chinese market, Chinanews.com reported.

Ye Banjun is the lucky owner of the 1 millionth GM car sold in China this year, a silver Buick LaCrosse sedan, as the company said in a press release. Executives and employees from GM China and its joint ventures celebrated with the millionth customer yesterday.

"For more than a decade, GM has been focused on working with our joint ventures to meet the needs of our local customers," said Kevin Wale, President of GM China. "GM will continue to roll out new models under our portfolio of six brands to win over more Chinese vehicle buyers and remain ahead of the competition."

This is the third straight year when GM and its Chinese allies exceed 1 million sold cars in the country. The first time that GM reached this milestone was in 2007 when General Motors became "the first global automaker to surpass 1 million unit sales in China in a calendar year."

GM had led global automakers in the China sales and market-share in the first seven months of 2009, by virtue of the record performance of its Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling joint ventures.

August 12 marked the sale of GM's 1 millionth vehicle in China this year and a record short time to reach this annual sales milestone. GM plans to double its annual China sales to 2 million units within five years.