GM expects its China sales growth to slow next year

Shanghai, November 23 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors said today that its China sales growth is likely to drop considerably in 2010 after a year of government stimulus-fueled growth comes to an end, Reuters reported.

GM's China sales is expected to grow 50% this year but only about 15% in 2010, Kevin Wale, president of GM's China operations, told Reuters in an interview at the Guangzhou Auto Show. "We've been changing the full-year forecast every month," he said.

A slew of government incentives, including cuts in sales taxes on small cars and subsidies for clean energy vehicles, have made China's auto market a major bright spot this year, but these stimulus measures were scheduled for expiry by the end of the year.

Last month, GM sold 166,911 vehicles in China, more than double the sales of a year earlier. Over the January-October period, GM saw its China sales rise 60% year on year to 1.46 million vehicles, exceeding 1.5 million units by early November.

GM will continue to invest heavily in the country, said Wale. Those investments will include new products, new capacity and R&D. It has planned to roll out 30 new or revamped models in China from 2009 to 2014.

The U.S. auto giant aims to grow faster than the overall China market next year as the Chinese government will come up with additional steps to boost the auto industry, Wale said last month.