General Motors (GM, Financial), in collaboration with its joint ventures in China, registered record sales for November. Sales spiked 7% year over year in China to 371,740 vehicles as Cadillac, Buick and Baojun continued to reach great heights. Year-to-date sales stood at 3,435,788 vehicles, up 8.5% from the same period last year thanks to impressive November sales.
General Motors looks bullish on China
The strong demand for luxury vehicles helped General Motors report record sales of its Cadillac brand. The brand’s sales surged a mammoth 70% to 13,476 units, thereby making it the fifth consecutive month where sales growth came in north of 50%. The sales gain was led by its midsize XT5 Crossover, which sold more than 5200 units. Deliveries of full-size XTS Sedans also soared a stunning 73% as compared to the same period last year.
Buick witnessed a sales gain of 1.5% to 109,495 vehicles. The sales of Compact GT Excelles stood at more than 36,000 units. Envision crossover sales surged 29% to more than 24,000 units. Verano sales were approximately 18,000 units. Moreover, the company launched the new generation of the Buick GL8 MPV van in November.
Baojun sales improved 28% to 74,779 vehicles. Baojun 730 MPV was the major driving force as sales surged 30%. Deliveries of Baojun 330 hatchback was more than 13,900 units. Wuling, on the other hand, saw a 0.2% decrease in sales to 121,566 units.
Chevrolet witnessed four straight months of sales growth as sales spiked 2.4% to 52,400 units. Sales of Chevy Cavalier amounted to more than 12,000 units. The new Cruze and the midsize Malibu sold 10,000 units each.
Working to combat local competition
General Motors has been witnessing pricing competition from local players in China. The pricing pressure is bearing an impact on the automaker’s bottom line. Apart from General Motors, crosstown rival Ford (F, Financial) is also feeling the pricing pressure from Chinese automakers.
However, General Motors is managing to offset the pressure through volume sales and a solid mix of product line. The top Detroit automaker is emphasizing on SUVs and premium cars that are seeing high demand in the mainland. Strong sales of Cadillac, Envision and Baojun’s 560 SUV were reported in October.
Last word
Looking at the November sales, the company undoubtedly looks on track to achieve great heights as far as the whole year is concerned. General Motors Executive Vice President and GM China President Matt Tsien said in a statement, “With less than a month to go, we are on track for record sales in 2016.” He added, “All recently launched products, such as the new-generation Buick GL8 and Baojun 310, have gotten off to a very good start on deliveries.”
As of now, the company is facing opposition from domestic automakers, as they are putting pressure on the company’s pricing policy. However, the strong lineup of products is helping the company compensate for the pressure. General Motors looks to end the fourth quarter on a dazzling note.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stocks mentioned in this article.
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