With three fewer selling days in January as a result of the Lunar New Year holiday, General Motors and its partners reported an eight percent drop in sales for the first month of 2012 in China. But at 246,654 vehicles sold, the drop is nothing to be much concerned about, since it resulted in the second-best January ever for the company and its joint ventures. And if automotive retail in China mirrors that of North America, sales are typically slower in the first one or two months after the new year. Nevertheless, here are some highlights:
Buick
- Buick sales up year-over-year to 71,056 units
- The original Excelle (aka Chevy Lacetti) sold 28,680 units, up 1.9 percent year-over-year. The Excelle also set an annual sales record “for all domestic passenger vehicle models in 2011” and was also the best-selling passenger vehicle in the industry
- The Buick Excelle XT (aka Buick Verano) and GT (hatch) sold 19,787 units, a growth of 21.1 percent on an annual basis
Chevrolet
- Chevy sales totaled 54,399 units
- The Chevy Cruze (sedan) led the way, selling 22,711 units
- The Sail family of subcompact cars was responsible for 18,069 sales
Cadillac
- Caddy sales grew 18.1 percent to (a measly) 2,987 units
- The SRX was responsible for most of the brand’s sales, moving 2,132 units
Wuling
- Wuling sales totaled 106,573 units
- The Sunshine minivan generated 47,137 sales; it was China’s best-selling vehicle in 2011 for the ninth consecutive year
Baojun
- The first and only model from Baojun, the 630, generated 9,006 sales during its first January on the market
Overall, Shanghai GM sold 124,073 units and sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling mini-vehicles and passenger cars totaled 119,948 units. FAW-GM — the light-duty commercial vehicle joint venture — was responsible for 2,433 sales.
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