January Surprise: GM China Up 22.3 Percent, Sub 1.6 Liter Segment Holds
Less than two weeks ago, GM China hinted that their sales may have risen more than 20 percent in January. This was seen as a good omen, because most pundits (except this one) had predicted a miserable January for China. GM China released its numbers today, and they over delivered. GM China reports a record month in January.
GM sold 268,071 units across its Chinese joint ventures in January. That’s an increase of 22.3 percent compared to the wild January of 2010. It also broke GM’s previous monthly sales record of 230,038 vehicles set in March 2010.
Shanghai GM’s sales reached 131,944 units, a whopping increase of 46.3 percent from January 2010. Chinese sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling’s family of mini-vehicles remain sedate and rose only 10.6 percent to 132,658 units. FAW-GM, GM’s light-duty commercial vehicle joint venture, sold 3,334 vehicles in China.
The strong January numbers of GM and Volkswagen augur well for continued growth of the Chinese market. The numbers of Wuling are another positive indicator. Wuling is very big in the sub 1.6 liter segment and profited a lot from past government subsidies that had been withdrawn as 2010 came to an end. Under these circumstances, even the mild growth of Wuling is nothing short of a miracle. All prognoses were that this segment would collapse in the first quarters of 2011. That it powers on after the subsidies were withdrawn is testament to the vigor of the Chinese market.
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.
More by Bertel Schmitt
Comments
Join the conversation
I love the sales numbers and statistics provided on this site. This information has often been difficult to find even with a Google search.