With vehicles like the Kuga, Ford China saw sales jump 29% in April.

General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. increased their sales in China during April: GM climbed 6.3% to a record 278,263 units, while Ford’s sales increased by 29% to 96,829 units.

GM reported Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling, as well as their Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Wuling brands, all reached new highs for April sales, GM said.

Overall, GM’s sales for the first four months of 2014 to a record 1,197,375 units, an increase of 11% on an annual basis. This is the eighth consecutive year and the earliest ever that GM has sold more than a million vehicles in a calendar year in China.

Shanghai GM’s domestic sales in April were up 5.8% year on year, SAIC-GM-Wuling’s sales increased 7.4% and FAW-GM’s sales in the domestic market 3.9% to 4,926 units.

Buick sales increased 2.7% on an annual basis, while Chevrolet sales in China rose 6.4% and Cadillac’s increased 49.4% as it benefited from strong demand of 2,678 units for the XTS luxury sedan and for the SRX luxury utility vehicle.

Wuling sales in China rose 11.2% on an annual basis in April

Between January and April 2014, Shanghai GM had domestic sales growth of 9.3% to 550,430 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling, which is targeted at rural areas and smaller cities, generated domestic sales growth of 13.2% to 624,740 units.

Ford China sold 96,829 wholesale vehicles last month, up 29% from the 75,315 sold in April 2013. Strong April performance pushed year-to-date sales up 41% from the same period last year.

“We are gratified that customers continue to respond to the world-class Ford cars and utilities that we are offering in China,” said John Lawler, president, Ford China.

April sales of imported Ford vehicles – which include the Ford Explorer, Ford Edge, Ford Focus ST and the Ford Fiesta ST – increased 72% compared to April 2013 with 3,251 vehicles sold. Year-to-date import sales more than tripled, with 12,249 vehicles, up 202% compared to the same period last year.

Changan Ford Automobile, Ford’s passenger car joint venture, posted a sales increase of 29% compared to April 2013. Year-to-date sales are up 46%.

Sales of the Ford Mondeo nameplate increased more than fivefold last month. In April, Ford Mondeo sales increased 415 percent from April 2013. Year-to-date Mondeo sales have more than doubled.

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The Ford Focus nameplate and the Ford Kuga both sold very well in April, Ford officials said.

April was also a strong sales month for Ford’s commercial vehicle investment in China, Jiangling Motors Corp. increased sales by 23% from April 2013. Year-to-date sales are up 20% from the same time last year.

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The Ford Transit led JMC sales growth last month, with sales up 25%. Year-to-date Transit sales are up 9%.

Last month at the Beijing Auto Show, Ford also debuted two new production vehicles: the global and all-new Ford Escort as well as the Chinese auto show debut of the all-new Ford Mustang.

GM took the wraps off two new Chevrolet products, the newest version of the Chevrolet Cruze, and the Chevrolet Trax as well as two new Baojun vehicles, built by the GM-Shanghai-Wuling vehicles.

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GM is confident, which has sold a total of 90,000 Trax in 60 countries since its launch in the late fall of 2012 will appeal to its Chinese customers.

“The small CUV’s combination of style, fuel efficiency and flexibility will lead to increased consumer demand over the next several years,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “We’re seeing small CUVs replacing compact and mid-size sedans on many shoppers’ consideration lists.”

The Trax joins Chevrolet’s small car lineup, into which seven models have launched in the past four years. In the same four-year span, Chevrolet’s market share of the small, compact and mini car segments has more than tripled because of models like the Spark, Sonic and Cruze.