GM drives past 3 million sales in China in 2014

General Motors and its joint ventures today sold their 3 millionth vehicle in China in 2014. This is the second consecutive year that GM has reached the milestone, a month earlier than last year.

In 2013, GM and its joint ventures hit 3 million sales in a calendar year on December 12 for the first time in GM’s history in its largest market.

“This achievement affirms that our broad portfolio of products is meeting the needs of vehicle buyers nationwide,” said Matt Tsien, GM executive vice-president and president of GM China. “GM has experienced particularly strong growth in demand at the higher end of our lineup and in the SUV and MPV segments.”

Cadillac sales in China in the first 10 months of 2014 increased 57.9 percent to 57,541 units, with especially strong demand for the XTS and SRX models. The pace of sales of the Buick Envision and Chevrolet Trax, the company’s newest entries in the SUV segment, is also brisk. Baojun’s 730 MPV has proven popular with customers as well, selling 58,528 since sales began in July.

GM and its joint ventures offer more than 40 different models under seven brands in China. Their products range from mini-cars to luxury sedans and from mini-commercial vehicles to light-duty trucks. Most GM vehicles sold in China are manufactured in China, and many are engineered and designed locally.

GM also offers a wide range of services tailored for the domestic market. Last month, Shanghai GM announced that it will become the first automaker in China to offer embedded 4G LTE service in a Cadillac model in 2015.

“We plan to continue expanding our lineup of vehicles and services to suit the increasingly diverse market in China,” Tsien added. “We expect to launch 60 new or refreshed vehicles through 2018.”

In the first 10 months of 2014, sales by GM and its joint ventures in China increased 10.7 percent on an annual basis to a record 2,872,501 units.