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GM's China sales surge 50% to monthly record

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-06 13:40

SHANGHAI -- General Motors said Tuesday that sales in China soared 50 percent in April to a monthly record of 151,084 vehicles, thanks to strong demand for Buick brand cars and Wuling minivehicles.

A logo at the entrance to the Austrian factory of General Motors is seen in Vienna May 5, 2009. [Agencies]

Sales of the Buick Excelle sedan, a staple in GM's Shanghai-produced portfolio, more than doubled from a year ago to 22,078, the company said in a statement.

Overall Buick sales jumped 63.6 percent in April to 38,071 units, it said.

GM's minivehicle joint venture, SAIC-GM-Wuling, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Chinese government policies aimed at encouraging purchases of small cars and minivans. Wuling minivehicle sales surged 60.6 percent from a year earlier in April, to 95,544 units, it said.

Vehicle sales in China so far this year have outpaced those in the US. If those trends continue, China would replace the US as the world's biggest auto market.

Detroit-based GM, which has received billions of dollars in government financial support, is working on a restructuring plan and has until June 1 to avoid a possible bankruptcy filing.

Related readings:  Tax cuts, subsidies boon for GM China  GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac  GM expects China 2009 sales to grow 5-10%  GM China to display 37 vehicles at Shanghai Auto show  GM to double China sales over 5 years

GM said the record in its monthly sales was helped also by its Regal upper-medium sedan, which was introduced at the end of last year, and its new Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan.

Both have gotten off to a good start, Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group, said in a statement.

"Our new product offensive, which is still in its early stages, has helped get customers into our showrooms and increase demand across the board," Wale said.

But GM officials said last month at the Shanghai Auto Show that the company intends to keep growing in China regardless of how its current financial situation is resolved.

GM aims to double sales in China to about 2 million vehicles a year within the next five years.