General Motors’ sales world-wide inched up just 0.4% year on year in the second quarter of 2007.
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The automaker sold 2.405m cars and trucks (compared with 2.395m) last quarter, posting record sales outside the United States. It sold 4.67m in the first half.
GM’s vice president of global sales, service and marketing operations, John Middlebrook, said on Thursday: “In the second quarter we experienced record sales growth around the globe including 20% growth in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East – an all-time quarterly record for that region, and 8% growth in the Asia/Pacific region. We’re also pleased to see almost 5% growth in Europe where we sold more than 574,000 vehicles.”
Global sales of 1.13m Chevrolet vehicles in Q2 were up just 4,000 units but the brand grew 34% in Europe, 24% in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and 3% in Asia-Pacific.
Saturn sales in the United States and Canada were up 27%, based largely, GM said, on the popularity of the new Sky roadster, Aura mid-size car and Outlook mid-size crossover. The division is launching a redesigned Vue small crossover and will soon introduce the GM-Europe-supplied Astra small car.
Second quarter sales outside the United States were a record 1.39m vehicles and accounted for about 58% of the automaker’s total global sales, growing at about 8% year on year and outpacing the industry average growth rate of 6%, GM claimed.
Latin America, Africa and Middle East region sales rose 20% to 293,300 units. Sales in Brazil were up 23% for the quarter.
GM has just announced a $US500m investment in Brazil and Argentina to develop new small cars, enhance its two plants and boost research and development.
In Asia/Pacific, sales rose 8% to 338,000 units and setting a quarterly record. China sales rose 6% to 234,000.
GM said it remained the top-selling automaker in China and is set to become the first manufacturer there to exceed 1m vehicle sales a year.
European sales rose 5% to 574,000 vehicles, also a quarterly record, led by Russia with a 106% increase. GM-Daewoo-sourced Chevrolet also achieved record European sales of 114,900 vehicles, up 34%, and are fuelling the automaker’s growth in Russia, it said.
GM said North America sales declined 7% to 1.2m units due to planned reductions in daily rental sales and “softness in the US market due to increasing fuel prices and concerns about housing”.
