GM Vehicle Sales Climb 4% in First Half

General Motors Co. sold 4.85 million vehicles around the world in the first half of 2013, a 3.9% increase from the same period a year ago as gains in North America and China helped offset softness in Europe and South America.

The Detroit auto maker's global market share inched up to 11.5% from 11.4%, while in North America, the figure ticked up to 17.2% from 17%, the company said.

GM said its joint ventures posted a record in China with unit sales of 1.56 million vehicles, up 10.6% from the same period a year earlier. Strength in China has helped offset weakness elsewhere in GM's international operations.

In Europe, its sales fell 6.5%to 797,333 vehicles, faster than the market's overall 5.6% decline. Its sales in South America fell 1% from a year earlier to 496,719 vehicles.

The company said it sold a record 2.46 million Chevrolet vehicles globally in the first half of the year, up 2.2% from last year. The auto maker is pushing to broaden its Chevrolet brand sales around the world and is introducing 13 new or refreshed Chevrolet vehicles in the U.S. and another 12 in different regions of the world.

"Chevrolet is in the midst of the most aggressive new product roll-out in the brand's history," said Alan Batey, senior vice president of global Chevrolet.

In the U.S., Chevrolet sales so far this year have been bolstered by strong demand for the Cruze, Equinox, Tahoe and Volt. But Chevrolet's U.S. market share has weakened in recent years, and the company's push of the brand comes as it aims to connect with consumers after a bail out by the U.S. Treasury in 2009 left the auto maker with a tarnished image.

Among Chevrolet's top five sales markets, growth in the first six months of 2013 was strongest in Mexico, up 16%. The U.S., China and Brazil also posted gains, while sales fell 16.1% in Russia.

Shares of GM, which is planning to report second-quarter revenue and profit later this month, have jumped about 26% this year. The gain has exceeded the broader market.