GM sets March and Q1 sales records in China

General Motors has reported that the company and its joint ventures have registered record sales in China during March  and the first quarter of 2014.

Sales in March increased 7.8 percent on an annual basis to 313,283 units. This helped domestic sales in the first quarter reach 919,114 units – an increase of 12.6 percent from the year-ago period. GM says its 2014 sales in China are on track to hit one million units by mid-April.

Shanghai GM’s domestic sales last month rose 10.5 percent on an annual basis to a March record of 140,077 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling’s domestic sales rose 6.1 percent to a March record 164,539 units. FAW-GM’s domestic sales rose 2.2 percent to 8,556 units.

Shanghai GM’s best-seller was Buick, which had record March domestic sales of 78,803 units, an increase of 12.4 percent year on year. Buick sales saw a strong performance from its original Excelle family, which sold 26,220 units. It was followed by the Excelle XT and GT, whose sales rose 38.2 percent to 23,015 units, and the Regal, which had sales of 8,626 units on growth of 4.5 percent.

Chevrolet sales in the domestic market grew 5.7 percent on an annual basis in March to 56,036 units. Its best-selling model was the Cruze, whose sales increased 39.6 percent to 22,351 units. Following the Cruze was the Sail, which had sales of 17,885 units.

Cadillac sales in China were a March record 5,238 units. Demand for the luxury brand jumped 44.3 percent on an annual basis, as sales of the XTS increased 22.6 percent to 2,459 units and sales of the SRX were up 54.2 percent to 2,363 units.

Wuling sales in China increased 7.9 percent from last March to 159,729 units. It was led by the Hong Guang family, whose sales increased 27.6 percent to 63,827 units. Demand for the Baojun brand was 4,810 units in March.

Between January and March, Shanghai GM sold a record 421,822 units in China, which was up 10.4 percent on an annual basis; SAIC-GM-Wuling sold a record 480,011 units in China, which was up 15.1 percent; and FAW-GM sold 16,967 units in China, which was up 2.6 percent.
For Q1 2014, Buick sales rose 13.9 percent YoY to 238,094 units, Chevrolet sales were up 1.7 percent to 168,371 units, Cadillac sales increased 104.9 percent to 15,357 units, Wuling sales grew 16.0 percent to 460,633 units and Baojun sales declined 3.5 percent to 19,378 units.