The American automaker General Motors (NYSE:GM), in collaboration with its joint ventures, reported a 4.3% sales growth year over year to 285,191 vehicles in China. SUVs and Cadillac shined in the second quarter. On a volume basis, this was the company’s best monthly performance.
The company’s year-to-date sales tumbled 2.5% to 1,765,828 units from the same period last year. Its brands had an amazing run with Buick, Cadillac and Baojun registering record June sales while Chevrolet experienced its biggest growth in six months.
General Motors’ cross-town rival Ford’s (NYSE:F) sales were down 7% on a year-over-year basis. Sales of Nissan (NSANY, Financial) and Toyota (NYSE:TM) improved 8.9% and 11%, respectively.
China sales back on track
China’s auto sales increased 2.3% in June. Passenger vehicles finally started rolling after having witnessed a bumpy start in 2017. Passenger car sales were extraordinary last year, witnessing 16% growth. As far as this year goes, passenger car sales are projected to increase 5%, even though the first half of the year was dull for this segment. Analysts expect sales to rise in the remaining period of the year.
It was SUVs that stole the show. SUV sales spiked 15.7% to 741,000 units. The combined sales of sedans, SUVs and minivans totaled 1.8 million vehicles. The year-to-date sales in China surged 3.8% to 13.35 million units on the back of huge demand for commercial vehicles.
How GM models performed in China
Buick sales were remarkable, up 13% to 96,913 vehicles as compared with June 2016. The sales gain was led by huge volumes of sales of models like Excelle GT (up 40% year over year), Envision (over 16,000 units) and LaCrosse (more than doubled to nearly 7,700 units year over year).
Cadillac’s China sales grew an astounding 35% to 12,886 units as compared with June 2016. This marks the brand’s 16th successive month of double-digit sales improvement. Cadillac showed more resilience in the Chinese market than in the U.S. This is the third time in a row that Cadillac sales were higher in China than in the US on volume basis. Cadillac XT5 sales amounted to roughly 5,000 units. Moreover, sales of ATS-L and CT-6 surged 34% and 81%, respectively. The brand’s year-to-date sales spiked a mammoth 75%.
Chevrolet sales surpassed the 38,000 units mark, up 7.2% sales from the same period last year. While Chevy Malibu sales spiked 40%, Cavalier sales totaled more than 11,000 units. Furthermore, Equinox sales were roughly 5,500 units.
Baojun witnessed a staggering 47% sales growth to 63,722 units in the Asian market. While the small crossover SUV Baojun 510 sales amounted to 23,353 units, Baojun 310 sales were over 8,500 units. Wuling sales, in contrast, dropped 26% year over year to 73,460 vehicles. To boost sales, Wuling would introduce a reasonable SUV later this year.
Last word
General Motors plans to introduce 10 new and refreshed models in the second half of the year and thereby gain momentum. The launches would include Buick Regal sedan, Baojun 310 Wagon and Wuling Hong Guang S3 SUV. This is expected to boost the American automakers sales volume and bolster the top and bottom lines from the Asian market. For now, let’s stay tuned for July figures.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stocks mentioned in this article.
