GM China Jan sales up 97% to 219,192 vehicles

Shanghai, February 4 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors said today that it and its joint ventures sold 219,192 vehicles in China last month, up 97% from a year earlier, media reported.

Shanghai GM, a flagship car venture between SAIC Motor and General Motors, sold 90,202 units in January. The robust sales were attributed to its new generation of mid-to-high class sedans Buick Regal and Buick LaCrosse, which achieved total sales of 17,011 units.

The government's tax cuts and subsidies for small vehicle purchases were a boon to GM's mini-commercial vehicle joint venture, SAIC-GM-Wuling, which sold 119,969 units in January, up 59.6% year on year.

"Demand in January was strong in nearly all market segments," Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said in a statement. "It is a positive sign for 2010 as a whole following last year's industry record."

Last month was the first time that GM's monthly China sales exceeded 200,000 vehicles. Sales in China by GM and its local ventures rose 67% to a record 1.8 million vehicles in 2009. It forecasts growth at more than 13% overall for this year.