GM China President Matt Tsien noted the company's mainstream passenger car entries helped GM to record sales in China last month.
Strong sales by Cadillac helped General Motors and its Chinese partners set a new sales record during August.
GM and its joint ventures delivered 293,537 vehicles in China, which was up 18% year over year. The Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and Baojun brands reached all-time highs for the month, the company said.
“Our mainstream passenger car entries drove our sales momentum,” said GM Executive Vice President and GM China President Matt Tsien. “We are looking to build on our success by adding another five new and refreshed models in the final four months.”
Cadillac deliveries in August advanced 93% year over year to nearly 10,000 units as deliveries of the ATS-L luxury sedan and XT5 luxury crossover both exceeded 3,000 units. Sales of the XTS luxury sedan increased 65% from the same period a year earlier.
Buick deliveries in August rose 23% on an annual basis to 94,188 units, led by the Excelle GT sedan. The Envision SUV maintained its strong growth as well, with deliveries increasing 53% on an annual basis. Deliveries of the Verano family exceeded 13,000 units.
Chevrolet deliveries also increased year over year to 38,706 units in August, led by demand of more than 19,000 units for the Cruze family. The nameplate benefited from the arrival of the all-new Cruze in July. Chevrolet launched the Cavalier compact midsize family sedan last week and will introduce the sixth generation of its iconic Camaro muscle car later this month, GM officials said.
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Meanwhile, GM also has announced plans to export the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro, GM’s iconic muscle car to China. Camaro has been one of America’s favorite performance cars, attracting both long-term fans and new buyers to the Chevrolet brand.
The new sixth-generation model improves on that by elevating every aspect of what made its predecessor a success. It includes a suite of new technologies, even higher levels of performance and fuel economy, and a more dramatic and functional design.
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The original Camaro arrived in dealerships in the U.S. in September 1966, with customers eager for Chevrolet’s entry in the new personal sports car segment. Sales of nearly 221,000 units in its first year made the Camaro a hit and firmly established its role in American popular culture.
Baojun, the brand GM invented for China, said its deliveries in August increased by 41% year over year. Sales of the Baojun 730 MPV and Baojun 560 SUV were up 37% and 52% respectively from the previous August.
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Wuling deliveries continued to grow last month, despite the challenging market environment for the mini-commercial vehicle segment. Deliveries rose 8% year over year to 99,589 units, mainly driven by the strong performance of the Hong Guang MPV family.