It's Official: GM China Bigger Than GM U.S.A.

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

GM China’s 2010 sales numbers did not disappoint. They expected more than 2.3 million cars for 2010 sold in the Middle Kingdom, they got more than 2.3 million. 2,351,610 units, to be exact, up 28.8 percent compared to a very strong 2009. to a record in 2010. GM is the first global automaker to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China in a single year. And here is the breakdown:

  • Shanghai GM ended 2010 with domestic sales of 1,033,307 Buicks and Chevys sold, up 42 percent.
  • The SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture contributed 1,226,860 delivery vans, but less growth: Wuling sales grew only 15.6 percent for the year, but they hold about 40 percent of China’s mini-commercial vehicle segment.
  • GM’s new light-duty commercial vehicle joint venture, FAW-GM, sold 88,224 trucks in China in its first full year of doing business.

In 2010, GM sold 543,709 Chevrolets (up 63.4 percent), Buick sales rose 23 percent to 550,010 vehicles sold in 2010. Even Cadillac reported record sales: 17,366 units in 2010.

With these numbers, China is not only the world’s, but also GM’s largest auto market. GM sold 2,11,699 units in the U.S., and 2,351,610 in China.

GM’s press release says that “Shanghai GM became China’s first passenger car maker to sell 1 million vehicles annually,” something Volkswagen might contest. No VW numbers are out yet, but VW is expected to have sold a little bit less than 2 million passenger cars in China, albeit across two joint ventures, FAW-VW and SVW. The Chinese partners of both are also GM joint venture partners, so complaints from there.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • MrWhopee MrWhopee on Jan 05, 2011

    BTW, Mr. Schmitt, we're still waiting for a review of the Wuling van! Hey, we heard about it all the time, practically every time there's an article about GM China, yet we know so little about it... So get your vaunted Chinese driver's license, go to a dealer, and_hoon_ that little piece of... :D

    • NN NN on Jan 05, 2011

      For what it's worth (probably not much), I rode shotgun in a new Wuling van this past November in Yunnan province. It was extremely spacious for such a small footprint, and had a short-throw 5-speed manual. Looked to be very utilitarian, simple, and probably quite fun to drive. On the other hand, the thin sheetmetal and zero safety features ensures certain death in an accident. The Chinese, who don't wear seatbelts anyways and drive like their a$$es are on fire, aren't concerned about this, which is why they've sold 1.2 million of them.

  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Jan 05, 2011

    My reaction to this was... meh. Being a well informed reader of TTAC I knew this was a forgone conclusion. Now if GM will just start selling Chinese Buicks like the Park Avenue in the good ole USA, that will put one heck of a smile on my face. (True Story) I was looking at the article posted many moons ago on TTAC about the Chinese Park Avenue when my girlfriend (now fiance) came up behind me and saw the pictures of the car. She knows of my love of big 'merican cars and said; "You could always buy one of those. That looks long and elegant." I had to tell her; "Sorry Angel, we live on the wrong continent. The real Buicks are reserved for the Chinese."

    • See 1 previous
    • Ajla Ajla on Jan 05, 2011

      The Chinese get the Park Avenue and SLS. Europe gets the Insignia OPC and VXR8. Australia gets Holden. The Middle East and South Africa get the Lumina. Even South Korea gets the Veritas. We get the Verano and XTS. Oh, and the Caprice- but only if you are a cop. ______ I guess the $64K CTS-V is GM's gift to us.

  • Bryce Chessum Bryce Chessum on Jan 05, 2011

    Only US customers cant buy a version of Holdens RWD cars or Opel/Vauxhall performance models just goes to show GMs marketing division is stupid. GM decided to market the 6 cyl Caddy down under recently even built 180 odd cars ready for release decided on price and where they would fit in their Holden line everything ready............ then after all that pulled the plug figuring in the reccession they would be hard to sell. One New Zealand Holden dealer tendered a bid for all the cars built and with an agreement not to ship them outside NZ bought all 180 cars and sold the lot in 2 weeks and has since got a ship load of UK model in and sold those too.

  • Wsn Wsn on Jan 05, 2011

    No matter how you spin it, Wuling is not GM. To be GM, it either has to be a traditionally GM brand, such as Buick, or a completely owned sub-brand. Wuling is neither. If Wuling is counted towards GM sales, why don't GM buy one share of Toyota and claim all Toyota sales?

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