The Buick Envision concept car at last month's Beijing Motor Show.
Another month another record seems to have become the prevailing pattern for General Motors in China. The U.S. giant and its various Chinese joint ventures set a domestic sales record for April of 227,217 vehicles.
Demand was up 11.7% from the same month in 2011, GM reported as it continues to defy the slowdown in China’s vehicle market due to the strength of the Wuling brand, which is marketed to customers in China’s vast interior.
GM has also been gaining traction with the all-new Baojun brand. Launched late last year, it’s a joint effort of the U.S. maker and partners SAIC and Wuling. Baojun is specifically targeting the next generation of first-time buyers as China’s economic boom spreads from the Pacific Coast to the country’s interior and western provinces.
GM’s strong performance in April overall took sales for the first four months of the year to 972,369 units, an increase of 9.4% on an annual basis.
By the time the April figures were tallied, “GM and our joint ventures today sold our 1 millionth vehicle in China this year,” said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group. “This is the sixth time and the earliest in our history that we have reached this important milestone in China. It has put us on track to once again set a new sales mark for the year as a whole.”
Not everything went as planned, however. The Chinese market showed an unexpected slowdown during the first quarter and April didn’t bring the sort of recovery many were hoping for.
Shanghai GM’s domestic sales were down 2.2% for the month compared to April 2011, to 94,101 units. But SAIC-GM-Wuling’s sales in China were up 27.0% on an annual basis to an April record 127,362 units. FAW-GM’s sales in the domestic market totaled 5,141 units.
Buick sales reached 54,013 units, an all-time high for April and an increase of 1.7% year-on-year. The original Excelle family had sales of 23,179 units, up 29.2% on an annual basis, while sales of the Excelle XT and GT increased 18.3% to 11,981 units.
Chevrolet sales in China decreased 6.2% on an annual basis in April to 41,555 units. Sales of the New Sail jumped 48.0% on an annual basis to 16,305 units. Cruze sales increased 7.6% from the same month in 2011 to 15,914 units.
Cadillac sales came in at 2,048 units in April. Sales of the SRX luxury utility vehicle once again topped 1,500 units. GM is betting big on Caddy’s chances in China. During the Beijing Motor Show last month CEO Dan Akerson confirmed GM will begin producing several Caddy models in the Asian nation, starting with the new XTS flagship later this year.
Wuling sales in China were up 22.0% on an annual basis to 117,829 units, an April record. The Baojun 630 sedan had sales of 6,018 units in its first April in the market.
In the first four months of 2012, Shanghai GM had domestic sales growth of 6.2% to 431,309 units, SAIC-GM-Wuling generated domestic sales growth of 12.6% to 517,271 units and FAW-GM sold 22,059 vehicles locally.