GM’s sales in China surpass 1.5 million units for 2009

Automaker General Motors said that its joint ventures in China had surpassed 1.5 million units in sales yesterday during 2009. With a strong October, the GM China family continued its string of record monthly sales that began at the start of the year.

''This has been a year of records for GM in China,'' said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group. ''It is GM's priority to put the customer at the center of everything we do. This is reflected in our vehicle design, engineering and production.''

Wale added, ''With our new engine and transmission technologies, we are able to present winning products that offer good fuel efficiency to satisfy local market needs. Many of our new products offer best-in-class fuel economy, including the new Buick LaCROSSE with an S6 transmission and the Buick New Regal 2.0L.''

For the first 10 months of 2009, GM's domestic sales in China totaled 1,459,460 units. This was a rise of 59.8 per cent from the first 10 months of 2008 and a new record for the period.

Despite the National Day holiday at the beginning of the month, the automaker and its joint ventures ended October with 166,911 vehicles sold. This was more than double the number sold in October 2008.

Shanghai GM sales in the first 10 months rose 46.5 per cent from the same period last year to 548,707 units.