GM China vehicle sales more than double in Aug

Shanghai, September 2 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors Co said today that its China vehicles sales in August jumped 112.7% year on year (y/y) to 152,365 vehicles, paving the way for a more than 40% rise in sales for the full year, Reuters reported.

In the first eight months of the year, the U.S. auto giant sold 1.11 million vehicles in the Chinese market, up 49.6% from a year earlier. GM has been among the major beneficiaries of the Chinese government's stimulus policies, with its China vehicle sales hitting monthly records since January.

Shanghai GM, the U.S. automaker's passenger vehicle venture with SAIC Motor Corp, sold 63,303 cars in August, up 99.6% y/y. Last month's sales of the Chevrolet brand came to 23,771 units, up 99.4%, with Buick sales up 102.8% to 38,905 units.

SAIC-GM-Wuling, a three-way commercial vehicle tie-up between GM, SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile, sold 88,711 units in August, up 122.6% y/y.

China's auto market, which overtook the United States as the world's largest in January, has been a leading bright spot in the struggling global auto industry as government incentives spurred a pick-up in demand.

GM plans to roll out 30 new or revamped models in China over the next five years, including 10 Buick and Chevrolet models by the end of 2010.

GM has just announced it will spend $293 million to set up a joint venture with China's FAW Group Corp to make light commercial vehicles.