The China sales tally includes 295,789 Wuling Sunshine microvans, making it the country's most popular vehicle. The Sunshine is made by the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, a partnership with China's largest carmaker, Shanghai Auto. The entire Wuling range accounted for 524,598 sales in the first half, up 50 percent from the year-earlier period.
With Wuling included in the China total, GM's first-half sales soared 38 percent from the previous year, while the company's sales in the U.S. during the same period plunged more than 40 percent from 2008, including 34 percent in June alone.
Without the Wuling vehicles, the Shanghai-GM joint venture still sold 288,843 vehicles to Chinese consumers in the first half of 2009.
The Buick brand continued to pace GM's efforts in China, notching a record 195,989 sales in the first half — up 34 percent from the previous year. GM said the new Chevrolet Cruze, which was launched in April in China, sold more than 19,000 units.
GM China President Kevin Wale said, "China's vehicle market continued to outpace most expectations for growth. The market benefited from stimulus policies adopted by the Chinese government, as well as growing demand for personal transportation in (smaller) cities and rural areas."
Inside Line says: GM's success in China is no surprise. Vehicle sales in that market in 2009 are now expected to top those in the U.S., catapulting China into the lead as the world's top auto market. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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