GM China 2014 sales rise 12% on strong December

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 8) - General Motors' China sales, boosted by a strong rebound in December, rose 12 percent in 2014 to 3,539,970 vehicles.

After growing less than 6 percent year on year in October and November, the company's China sales surged 32 percent in December from a year earlier to 357,375 vehicles.

During the month, sales of Shanghai General Motors Co., GM's passenger vehicle joint venture, jumped 52 percent year on year to 191,181 on strong volumes brought by the newly launched Buick Envision crossover and Chevrolet Sail 3 subcompact car.

In December, sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., GM's micro commercial vehicle partnership, advanced 20 percent from a year earlier to 164,258 on strong demand for its small multipurpose vehicles.

But deliveries of FAW-GM Light Commercial Vehicle Co., GM's truck joint venture, plunged 71 percent to 1,936 due to the sluggish truck market.

For 2014, sales of Shanghai GM rose 13 percent year on year to 1,710,025. Deliveries of SAIC-GM-Wuling also increased 13 percent to 1,787,931. FAW-GM's sales dropped 29 percent to 41,702.

GM also sold a small number of Opel cars in China through imports.

"GM performed well ahead of the overall industry in China, which was up an estimated 7.5 percent last year," GM China President Matt Tsien said. "We experienced especially strong growth in demand in the luxury segment as well as in the SUV and MPV segments."